Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Normalcy could be a strange thing. When you’re going through one extraordinary event after another, it becomes difficult to imagine life any other way. And when it finally comes, well…it may take a while for it to feel truly normal. 

“Bugger…”

Every once in a while, thoughts like these would worm their way into Cammy White’s head. Her life, by most accounts, was not a very normal one. To the average person, few jobs were as extraordinary as an intelligence operative, especially one who works for an agency as high-profile as MI6. But for Cammy, it was the only one she’d ever known, yet even that seemed mundane in the grand scheme of things.

Cammy couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She was meant to be getting ready for an outing; a visit to the cafe with two of her sisters. A perfectly ordinary thing, even if everything leading up to it had been anything but. The memories could be almost overwhelming at times, yet they didn't illicitly despair and confusion as they had before. Instead, they brought her comfort. Joy. Pride at how far they had all come. How far she had come. 

Bison was gone. The man who had brought her into this world, the one who had hurt so many dear to her, the one who had forged her into a killer. That had been her purpose from the start - to be a killer. She was never meant to be anything more. Bison hadn't believed she could be anything more.

How wrong he was. 

“Cammy!” came a voice from outside. “Are you ready yet?”

“Just a minute!” 

Her focus rekindled, she got back to her fairly limited preparation. She didn’t typically apply makeup, but just for today, she decided to put on a touch of lip gloss. It wasn’t hers, naturally. Her flat mate, Juni, had lended her after insisting she “doll herself up” a little. An interesting choice of words, given their history. 

And there it was again.

Casting this thought aside before it could root itself in, Cammy finished applying the lip gloss and gave herself one more lookover. She’d decided to wear an orange turtleneck and a pair of new jeans she’d been meaning to wear, but hadn’t really gotten the chance to. Her job was very demanding and she was quite devoted to it, a combination that didn’t leave her with much free time. But work was rather slow at the moment, so she had a chance to slow down herself. To simply enjoy the life she’d fought so hard for.

From outside, she could hear some quiet giggling, no doubt at her expense. “Oh, for the love of…” she uttered to herself as she finally stepped out of the bathroom. Waiting for her were Juni and their other sister and flat mate, Decapre. Both of them were already dressed; Juni in a blue short sleeved turtleneck and white skirt, and Decapre in a simple blue shirt and black pants.

“Aww, look at you!” Juni enthused as Cammy approached, putting her hands together and smiling broadly. “Isn’t she cute?” 

This question was addressed to Decapre, who didn’t seem to hear it at first? “Hmm? Oh, yes. Quite.” she finally said. Compared to her and Juni, Decapre had a noticeable Russian accent, but this wasn’t what caught Cammy’s attention. Just from the way she spoke, it was clear she was nervous. She typically was when they went out in public. All this was still new to her, after all, and she was certain to draw attention due to the burn mark on the right side of her face. An eternal reminder of her bloody past.

“We’re all bound to turn a few heads,” Cammy said before turning to look at Juni. “Which I guess is the idea.”

“Not necessarily,” her flatmate said with a slight smirk. “Unless…”

“Juni…” 

“Like I said, just be open to it, okay? As long as it isn’t unwanted attention, of course.”

Cammy could only sigh as Juni slightly adjusted her collar, keeping that same infectious smile on her face the entire time. Then, with a spring in her step, she grabbed her purse and started making her way to the door. “Okay, let’s go! Before it gets too busy!”

For a moment, Cammy simply watched her go, during which time she noticed Decapre rolling her eyes, something she couldn’t help but chuckle at. Compared to the two of them, Juni was much more personable or perhaps more accurately, a lot less cautious around people. This was hardly a criticism of her. If anything, she was impressed by how well her sister had reintegrated after what she'd gone through. But some days, she envied her.

After retrieving her purse and jacket, and making sure to say goodbye to their house cat, Cammy and her sisters began their little outing. The weather had been everything she'd hoped for: the sun was shining in the sky and a cool spring breeze kept it from getting too humid, making for a pleasant walk down London’s streets or as pleasant as it could be, anyway.

As they walked, Cammy had to remind herself to relax. When she was on the clock, she'd been taught to practice constant vigilance, a habit that bled into her everyday life. But right now, she wasn't looking for anyone and whatever threats they might encounter on the street would be trifling at best. All she had to do was relax. Enjoy herself. Smile and laugh.

She'd earned it. They’d all earned it. 

…

They reached the cafe some twenty minutes after leaving. The patio seats completely packed, leaving them no choice but to go looking for a seat inside. 

“Ooo, there!” Juni said before they even opened the door, pointing to a circular table through the window. 

“Relax,” Cammy said as she opened the door for them. “If this one's full, we can always find…another…”

Her voice ever so slightly trailed off when she looked behind the front counter. Out of habit, she'd quickly scanned the cafe as the three of them entered, making note of how many people were there and where they all were. As expected, nothing really caught her eye - that was, until she saw who would be serving them.

Behind the counter was a young man wearing a simple blue apron, his attention absorbed by a notebook he was presently writing or scribbling in. A few things jumped out at her: he had a slight tan, had a short beard and looked fairly lean; in short, he was quite attractive. 

Thankfully, he only captured Cammy’s attention for a moment before it turned back to Juni, who’d gone ahead of her and Decapre to claim the free table. 

“Come on, I’ve been meaning to take you guys here for months,” she said to them, pulling out their chairs for them as they approached. “Great lattes, great cakes, great ambiance…great service.”

Juni looked directly at her while listing this last quality, putting a good deal of emphasis into it as well. Naturally, this incited a bit of suspicion. She was certain Juni had been looking the other way when she noticed that barista, but then why was she smirking at her like that? Was she reading too much into things?

“I’m sure,” was all Cammy said as she and Decapre took their seats. Her twin had been quiet for some time and was herself looking over the cafe, appearing somewhat uneasy. “Do you want to find another spot?”

“Oh, no, I like it here. It’s…cozy.”

Taking another look around, Cammy couldn’t help but agree. She hadn’t paid much mind to the decor until then, but the cafe seemed to be going for a vintage aesthetic and it worked quite well. Exposed brick walls were decorated by various paintings and black-and-white photos, the details of which she could only faintly make out from a distance. Light acoustic music played over a speaker, interspersed with the subdued chatter of the other customers, a couple of which she could see glancing in their direction. 

But regardless of all that, Decapre looked comfortable. She looked happy - happy to simply be there with them. And nothing warmed Cammy's heart more. 

“Good. Really good.” She couldn't help but smile as she spoke, or when she looked back at Juni, who was gleaming with similar pride for their sister. 

That quiet moment was interrupted when Juni's eyes focused behind her, after which she waved at someone. “Kostas! It's so good to see you!”

Kostas? Who was Kostas?

Her confusion led to her looking behind her to find the barista she’d seen earlier coming over to their table with his notebook still in hand, something that probably shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did. 

“Welcome back, Juni,” he greeted with a much deeper voice than she was expecting. “Sorry for missing you earlier; I was just catching up on a little homework.”

He held up his notebook and Cammy could faintly see what looked like equations on the pages. So he was a student; a college goer, if she had to guess. There were a good deal of those around town, be they local or international, but it wasn't immediately clear which camp he fell into. His accent definitely didn't seem English…

“Sorry for distracting you,” Juni apologized with a small giggle. “Well, okay, not really. Come on, come meet my sisters.”

“Oh, bollocks,” Cammy suddenly thought to herself. She should've known.

“Your sisters?” It was then that Costas seemed to notice her and Decapre for the first time, but particularly her. When he met her eyes, he seemed almost in disbelief, practically mirroring her similarly befuddled expression. She figured he was young, but not this young; even younger than her, from the looks of things. Yet he still looked so…mature.

“Sisters. Right, that checks out,” he uttered, his eyes going back and forth between her and Decapre. “Well, it's nice to meet you. Name’s Kostas, if you didn't hear. Can I please get yours?”

It took Cammy a moment to offer a response, when she realized he needed them to place their order as well. “Cammy. Pleasure.”

“Cammy, right. I remember now - Juni had a lot to say about you.”

That was certainly a surprise. Juni told him about her? Why had she told him about her?

She pondered this while Kostas noted her name in his journal for later before turning his gaze to her twin. “And you must be…De…Decapre? That's how you say it, right?”

“Close enough,” she replied and even chuckled at his sloppy pronunciation. “So…are you a friend of Juni’s? Because I don’t recall her mentioning you.”

“That so? I'm hurt.” 

Cammy’s attention briefly turned back to Juni, who was still observing the interaction with a silly smile. She also couldn’t help but notice her sister was being uncharacteristically quiet. 

“And why is that, I wonder?” Cammy teasingly said, earning an eye roll from Juni.

“Oh, I have my reasons. Just probably not the ones you’re thinking of.”

Juni’s coyness was becoming a little irritating, but Cammy didn’t let that irritation show. By now, she had a good enough idea of what she had in mind and she decided to play along. For the most part, anyway.

“So, ladies. Do you know what you’re getting or should I come back in a few?”

“Yeah, I’ll…” “Come back in a few, please,” Cammy politely interrupted Juni before she could finish, something that didn’t seem to surprise her too much.

“Actually, that’s a good idea. We’ll come to you when we’re ready,” she said to the barista, who seemed a little confused by the whole situation.

“Alright then. Take your time.”

With that, Kostas made his way back to the counter, leaving the three sisters to decide what they wanted to have. Though she didn’t mean to, Cammy spent more time than she should’ve looking after him and suddenly, she wished she hadn’t been so curt with him.

“Mmm, looks like someone’s made a good first impression,” she heard Juni say behind her. And just like that, any doubt she had about her intentions evaporated.

Sharply turning back towards her, she looked directly at her and exclaimed, “Are you mental?!”

“Why do you ask?”, she said, still just as calm as she was before.

“Why do I…?” Cammy was minding her voice, being sure not to talk loud enough for the other customers or, God forbid, Kostas from hearing them. Nonetheless, she paused and took a steady breath before continuing. “Are you trying to play matchmaker here?”

“Depends. Are you interested?” 

“Juni, I’m serious…” “No, really. I didn’t make him any promises. He didn’t even know we were coming today.”

As vague as she’d been today, Cammy believed her. She wasn’t trapped; if she wanted to leave, she could do so at any time. But the thing was, she didn’t want to leave, not only because she didn’t want to uproot their established plans, but because a part of her was…curious about this Kostas. As much as Juni insisted that she consider “putting herself on the market” as she’d say, she had never tried anything like this before. And odds were she wasn’t only trying to play matchmaker for her…

“Ahhh, I see now,” Decapre suddenly interjected, smiling as she turned to Cammy. “He is quite cute, isn't he?”

Now she really had no idea what to say. Hearing that from Decapre of all people felt surreal - the fact they were concerning themselves with such meaningless drivel after everything that's happened…

Before these thoughts could get too out of hand, Cammy took another breath. This wasn't something to get bent out of shape about. “I guess so,” she reluctantly acknowledged.

“I knew it!” Juni exclaimed almost the moment she finished speaking. “I knew he;d be your type.”

“You are a child,” said Cammy. 

“See that, Decapre? She didn't say I was wrong.”

“So I noticed,” her twin acknowledged, earning her a sidewards glare from Cammy.

“You were in on this.”

“What?”

“You were in on this, I know you were!” 

“Oh, no, no, no, nonsense!” Decapre insisted, but subtlety wasn't quite her strength, nor was reading social cues. She seemed to think she was genuinely upset with her, immediately eliciting a tinge of guilt from Cammy. 

“It's fine. It's just…” She paused for a moment, tapping her finger on her curled knuckles as she looked between her two sisters. “What exactly do you want me to do?” 

“Nothing you don't want to,” Juni said to reassure her. But soon after she did, she smiled again and leaned in a little closer. “But tell me this. What would you do if he were to say…come back over here and ask for your…”

“No,” she said almost without meaning to.

“Alright, then I guess it has to be the other way around,” Juni continued without missing a beat. “How about this? We’ll figure out what we want to have and then you'll go order for us.”

“I…” Once again, she found herself unsure of what to say. It would have been so easy to just say no again and go about their day as originally planned, but a part of her didn't want to. And not simply because she didn't want to disappoint her sisters. 

“Why are you doing this to me?” she lightly complained as she sunk back into her chair. 

“It's good for you. And most amusing for us.” It was Decapre who spoke this time - blunt and to the point as always. But there was more to what she said.

“I’m happy with things as they are. You know that.” Cammy took a lighter tone when speaking this time.

“I do,” Decapre acknowledged. “But I think you need to relax a little more. With how much you work, it’s like you think Shadaloo never died.”

And there it was. She’d hoped to avoid any mention of that today, but Decapre’s comment came from a place of genuine concern and unfortunately, wasn’t entirely unfounded. They’d both been there the day Shadaloo fell - the day M. Bison was finally vanquished. Yet even all these years later, Cammy was certain a few loose ends remained and leaving even one to dangle could be disastrous. Bison had cheated death before. Who’s to say he couldn‘t do it again?

“I want to be able to move on. I want all of us to be able to move on. But until I can be certain…”

“We understand,” Juni chimed in. “Believe me, we understand. But you can’t live always anticipating the worst case scenario. We’re not asking you to drop it, because let’s face it, you won’t. Just…take it easy, okay? And take a chance or two while you’re at it.”

Throughout all this, Juni continued to smile at her. And yet again, Cammy felt a sense of overwhelming pride. She’d never forget her days as a Doll, but those were in the past. She was her own woman now, with her own life, something she said again and again she owed to her. It was clear now this little gesture was her attempt of repaying her in a way and even if she didn’t think it was necessary, Cammy was quite moved.

When she looked back over to Decapre, her twin gave her a simple smile and nod. Of course she agreed with everything Juni said. After everything Cammy had done to save her, how could she not?

“Alright, fine,” Cammy relented. “If he has your seal of approval.”

“Oh, absolutely,” said Juni. “He’s a bit reserved, but I think you’ll get along well.”

Deciding to take her at her word, Cammy then waited for her sisters to decide what they wanted to order. She herself decided what she wanted pretty quickly, giving herself a bit of time to determine her plan of action. She didn’t consider herself to be anxious, but she couldn’t help but be wary of people, so she didn’t tend to approach strangers often, especially not for this reason. What was she meant to say or do?

“Don’t overthink it,” Juni advised her once their orders were decided. “Just chat with him for a bit and slip him your number.”

“I’m not overthinking it.” “Course you are. You always do.”

Cammy gave Juni a brief glare, even if she knew she was right. Rather than wasting any more time arguing, she finally stood up from her seat. “Excuse me,” she said for no real reason.

“Excused,” Decapre jokingly said.

“Knock ‘em dead,” Juni added on.

With that, Cammy turned around and made her way over the counter. The cafe didn’t seem to be particularly busy at the moment, so there was no line for her to wait in and more importantly, nobody for her to hold up behind her. So when she got close, she immediately got Kostas’s attention, who looked up from his notebook and set it down to greet her.

“Oh, hi there,” he hastily greeted. “Cammy, right?”

“That’s me,” she confirmed. “Kept you waiting, huh?”

“No problem at all. I have enough to keep me busy.” 

When Cammy stopped at the counter, there was a brief moment where she simply stood there and said nothing. The two of them had by now made eye contact, letting her get another really good look at him. There wasn’t much for her to note about him that she hadn’t already; he was just really handsome. 

“Are you ready to order then?”

“Yes, yes, thank you,” she said, finally remembering what she was supposed to be there for. “I’ll just take a mocha and some apple pie; then a caramel latte and cheesecake for Juni, and some black coffee and a chocolate cupcake for Decapre.”

Kostas noted this all down as she spoke. “Any specifics for the drinks?”

“Just that Juni wants hers in a cup. She also said she’s excited to see the art.”

“No surprises there,” he said with a smile.

There was another brief silence where he finished up with his notes, during which time Cammy was still trying to figure out what to say to him. All she could think to do was watch as he wrote in his notebook, which was when she finally got an idea.

“So, what homework did we tear you away from?”

Caught off guard, he stopped writing and looked up at her. “Ah, that’s what you meant. It’s prep for a math class I have tomorrow morning; nothing I imagine you’ll find exciting.”

“Maybe not,” she acknowledged. “Do you find it exciting?”

“I need it for my degree. I’ll say that much.”

“And what’s that?” “Engineering.”

“Ah. Impressive.” “You can say that when I finish the bloody thing.”

Cammy couldn’t help but laugh, not so much because of the joke itself, but because of how casually he said it. People tended to be a little cautious upon first meeting her and she couldn’t blame them - she wasn’t the most sociable person in the world. But Kostas hardly seemed intimidated by her.   Engineering definitely wasn’t her first guess, but it did make him seem ambitious. 

She was just about to ask what school he was attending when he finally lowered his notebook. “Listen, I have to go get your orders ready, but can I ask you something first?”

Somewhat taken aback, she needed a moment to mull the request over. “Sure,” she answered, curious about just what was on his mind.

“Right. I’m just curious, and sorry if I’m prying, but…what’s with the scar?”

At first, she was a little bit confused, until she realized he was referring to the scar she had on her left cheek. “Oh, that’s…it’s a long story. But it’s real, if that’s what you’re wondering.” 

“I see. Then that...thing on Decapre's eye - I take it that's not a birthmark?”

This was a question Cammy was a bit more hesitant to answer. “Unfortunately not,” she eventually said, resisting the urge to look back at her twin before doing so. She didn't know why she told him that or why she felt so guilty for doing so. She hadn't exactly revealed anything to him, after all…but judging from the silence that followed, he’d understood enough.

“Okay, that seems like a touchy subject. Sorry for being so nosey. It's just hard to miss, that's all.”

“I understand,” said Cammy. While it was a bit upsetting that their markings was one of the first things people tend to notice about them, there was nothing they could do about it. They would always be there, and not everyone needed to know their true meaning. 

It was clear that Juni hadn't told Kostas everything, but it was also clear he was still curious about her. And for once, Cammy didn't mind one bit.

“Although, I can tell you a little bit more. If you happen to have the time.”

He seemed just about ready to return to work when she made this proposition, no doubt wishing to leave the awkward situation he’d created. Needless to say, he was quite surprised, but only briefly.

“I’d be all ears,” he eventually said, bringing back some of his earlier swagger. “Only thing is that today's quite busy for me, and I can only let you three stay for so long before the boss starts hounding me.”

“I didn’t say it had to be today,” Cammy pointed out.

“True.” Pausing for a moment, he leaned against the counter, bringing them a bit closer to eye level. “So…”

“Do we get to eat for free?”

She said this a bit spontaneously, once again causing him to fall silent. She could see the exact moment he realized what she meant and had to keep herself from laughing. “I mean…”

Finally, Cammy couldn’t contain herself any longer, but managed to limit herself to just a bit of giggling. “Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you. What do I owe?”

“32 pounds,” he promptly answered. “And maybe a little more, if you’re feeling generous.”

“Mmm.” Taking out her wallet, Cammy got ready to pay. “Cash only, right?”

“Aye.” 

With this in mind, she took out three tenners and one fiver, as well as another inconspicuous slip of paper that she mixed in with her payment. “Here you are,” she said as she handed him the money. “Whatever’s extra is for you.”

“Why, thank you,” he said as he took her payment. Taking a moment to check she’d given him everything she owed, he quickly noticed the extra slip, taking it from the bundle in order to have a look at it. Once he was done, Kostas simply looked back up at her and smiled; for a moment, Cammy was so embarrassed she almost dropped his gaze, hoping to God she wasn’t turning red.

“Everything appears to be in order,” said Kostas, sparing her from further embarrassment. “Well, time to get back to work. I’ll get back to you soon.”

“Thank you,” she said when nothing else came to mind and seeing what he’d just said as confirmation he got the message, turned to return to her table. As she made her way back, Cammy felt a strange sense of relief, maybe even excitement...which quickly turned to dread when she saw her sisters closely watching her and more specifically, Juni smiling from ear to ear.

“Not one word,” she said to them as she sat back down.

“So, did you…?” “Yes.” Cammy anticipated her question and answered before she could even finish, but this was obviously only one of many that were coming her way.

“What did he say?” “Nothing,” she answered, which wasn’t entirely wrong. Not that it mattered.

“Look at her, she’s still blushing. He definitely said yes,” Juni said to Decapre, who was quietly observing all this with a pleasant smile. And while she didn’t say it outright, Cammy could tell she was proud of her, at least in a small way. 

 “I can’t believe you put me up to this,” she muttered almost to herself.

“Hey now, we didn’t tell you to do anything,” Juni pointed out. 

“You did a little more than that, Juni.” “Maybe. But you didn’t need to slip your number in with the cash, right? You could’ve just kept it and come right back here, And yet...”

Cammy chose to stay quiet, mostly because she had no way to argue against that. That bit with the number had been Juni’s idea, yes, but it was just that - an idea. And to her credit, it ended up working quite well, even if it made her feel like a ditzy school girl. 

“What’s done is done,” she said after some pause. “And now, I guess I wait.” 

“Hopefully not too long, hmm?” Decapre finally spoke, drawing their attention to her. “What? It’s exciting.”

“I didn’t think you’d be so invested in this,” Cammy commented. 

“Me neither,” her twin replied before leaning a little closer to her. “But tell me, and be honest, what did you think of him?”

She was practically whispering to her, speaking just loudly enough so that Juni could also hear her and judging from how she perked up with interest, she did. This whole outing seemed to be getting more ridiculous by the minute; being the subject of such childish gossip, and by her sisters no less, felt utterly surreal to her.

Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to be upset. With all the years that’ve been stolen from them, they could afford to be a little childish. And to be honest, Cammy found it all a little amusing herself.

“Well…” she started to say, still a little unsure of what she should say. What did she think of him? She’d only just met him, after all.

“I like him.”

This simple answer was left to settle over the table, leaving her sisters to simply sit and smile at her. As nice as it was, Cammy didn't like staying the center of attention for so long. “Oh, for goodness sake, you two. If I had any sense, I’d ask for a refund and take us somewhere else.”

“Too late,” was Juni’s simple comment on the matter. What's more she was looking behind Cammy as she said this - in the direction of the front counter.

She first hesitated at following her sister's gaze, but very soon, she ended up caving and turning her head some ways to glace behind her. She could see Kostas preparing their coffee, finishing one cup and setting it on a decorative platter before getting to work on another machine. As he toiled away, she saw him sneaking a few glances in their direction, but particularly her direction. 

At first, she couldn't tell if he could tell she was looking, but that doubt started fading the moment he started smiling and then shattered completely when he gave a cheeky wink. The moment she saw that, her head practically snapped forward, a sight that practically made Juni break out in hysterics. 

“ Yep. Too late,” she thought to herself, but this was soon replaced with another thought. One she almost couldn't believe she was having.

"How exciting."

...

Chapter Text

The day had taken an interesting turn for Kostas. He spent the rest of his shift replaying that one single interaction in his head over and over again, wondering how in the hell any of it even happened.

Seeing Juni come in had been a pleasant surprise on an otherwise uneventful day. She visited the cafe often enough that he didn't need to ask her for her order and usually stayed long enough to let them chat for however long he could get away with; about as close to a friend as a customer could get, he supposed. But this was the first time she came with company - serious company. 

Cammy. He’d heard of her from Juni before, but nothing could’ve prepared him for meeting the real deal. To put it simply, she was stunning , so much so that it was almost unsettling. It was strange, but he was convinced it should have been impossible for a woman that beautiful to really exist. But she did, and he’d somehow gotten her number. 

He played it cool for the rest of the time she spent in the cafe, serving her and her sisters, then seeing them off when the time came for them to go. Kostas couldn't help but notice Juni looking between him and Cammy with the dumbest smile on her face as they were leaving; that alone made him suspect she had something to do with the whole thing, but he’d ask her and potentially thank her some other time. 

Once his shift had wrapped up, he sat down to wait for a bus that would take him back to his rental apartment. Finding and keeping said apartment had been quite the challenge, which was only made harder by the fact he was an international. Between the time demanded by his degree and the work needed to keep up with his rent, there was little time to spend on himself. 

But as tiring as it could be, Kostas was partial to the grind. His family back home continued to support him financially, which combined with the handful of scholarships he’d been awarded meant he was far from desperate. His parents’ generosity frankly made him working unnecessary, but he liked knowing that he was earning his keep, if just a little. Besides, the coffee shop he’d been hired by was…pleasant as far as part-time jobs go. God knows he felt grateful for it today.

When it became clear he’d be waiting for a little while, he took out his phone and went to messages. He’d practically memorized the number he’d been given earlier that day, but he still referred to the slip Cammy had snuck to him. He was fairly certain girls didn’t really do things like that in this day and age, but that made it endearing in an odd way.

Once he was sure he had the right number, he got to typing. 

Hi! Its Kostas from Glass Cafe. I just got off.

He left it at that for now. He figured he’d have to wait a bit for a reply, assuming he got one at all. Needless to say, he was surprised when his phone vibrated not even five minutes later; sure enough, it was a message from Cammy, which was soon followed by another.

Hello.

That explains it. You must be exhausted.

The rather formal writing style made him raise an eyebrow, but he didn’t pay it too much mind.

Yeah, a bit. far from a bad day tho

How’re you doing? Do anything fun with your sisters?

Cammy replied soon after.

We just got back from visiting the market in Greenwich. I didn’t get anything, but the others did.

And you? What would you say was the highlight of your day?

Kostas almost scoffed out loud the moment he read that last message. He could tell she was fishing for a certain answer, but even so, he took a little bit to think about it before he answered.

I’m sure you can guess

Next came a few more messages from Cammy, all of which he waited for with the slightest bit of nervousness

Charmed. 

It was a pleasure to meet you, too. I hope we can see each-other again soon.

Whatever lingering doubts he may have had about her intentions died then and there. He wrote back almost immediately.

Me too!

My closest free day is this Sunday, but I should also be free Thursday evening. Either of those work for you?

A minute later, during which she was no doubt looking over her calendar, he got an answer.

Either one’s fine. 

I’m sorry, I’m rubbish at this. Did you have anything in mind?

To be honest, he didn’t. It had been a while since his last date and riding the high of getting one at all that he hadn’t really bothered to work out the details. That was, until he remembered a detail Juni shared with him at one point.

I know a cat cafe that recently opened near campus. You down?

The reply was almost instantaneous.

A what?

Whether she was confused, excited or a mixture of both, he decided to stick with it.

It’s exactly what it sounds like

Just as he was considering being a little more specific, he got another string of messages.

That sounds amazing.

But I have to ask. How much did Juni tell you about me?

Well, she was a sharp one. He was slightly hesitant to give away the exact details about their conversations, but he did want to be as honest as possible. 

He’d become so distracted that he almost didn’t notice his bus arriving; he probably would’ve missed it entirely if a stranger hadn’t pointed him out to him. Still, it gave him a little bit of time to think about his answer as he boarded and got himself seated. Once he was comfortable, he replied.

Not a whole lot, but she had nothing but good things to say about you

It sounded like you were her hero

I still have a lot of questions, but I’ll save those for when I see you

He waited for a reply. 

I see. 

Sorry for asking. It's just that I know next to nothing about you.

Now, that was interesting. He recalled her other sister, Decapre, saying this was her first time even learning of him, but he had a feeling she’d been lying. Could it be that…?

Deciding it wasn't worth getting concerned about, he messaged her back.

Hey, if you have any burning questions I’d be happy to answer them

Kostas proposed this almost on a whim. By all accounts, this conversation could have ended there, but he didn’t feel like letting her go just yet. Besides, if she was interested, who was he to withhold answers from her?

Close to a minute later, Cammy wrote back with her first question.

Okay then.

What’s your background? Culturally, I mean.

He was tempted to make her guess, but he decided it would be better to give her a straight answer.

I’m from Cyprus. My family’s Greek

I’m here for school obviously but that’s where I grew up 

Next came her prompt reply.

Oh, really? I figured you were an international, but I didn’t want to assume.

Have you been living here for long? How’s it been for you?

Close to three years now. It’s a bit pricey and I get homesick sometimes but I like it well enough

Not sure if I’m going to stay after I graduate but I’m open to it

He was sure she was going to ask him about that; if not now, then later. Maybe it was a bit premature to say this, but he would definitely rest easier knowing his date wasn’t going to up and leave the country at whatever point.

That’s good.

He guessed that meant she agreed with that sentiment, but she didn’t stop there.

I feel like a bloody recruiter. Maybe I should just send you a questionnaire. 

Kostas came very close to laughing, stopping only because he saw that someone else had joined him at the bus stop. 

You have that many questions?

Fire away. I’ve got plenty of time to kill

And Cammy kept on asking questions, enough to keep him occupied for the rest of his ride back. At some point, their little Q&A ended up devolving into simple chatter. Cammy's overly clean style of texting took a little getting used to, but it hardly bothered him when he needed to wait a minute at most for her to answer. Soon, he started getting worried they’d run out of things to talk about before their date, but another part of him just wanted to keep talking to her.

And that side easily won out, and somewhat emboldened him.

I have to walk the rest of the way home, so I need to keep my eyes up

I can message you back in about twenty minutes if you still want to talk. 

Or I can call you instead. Your choice

Almost the moment he sent this text, Kostas started to worry that he might have overstepped his bounds. He’d only just met her and the little time he did spend talking to her seemed to show she was a bit on the quieter side. She was confident, sure, but maybe not enough to get on the phone with someone who was still essentially a stranger.

Thankfully, this self imposed dilemma resolved itself when Cammy replied.

Sure. Call me.

You meant right now, right? Or are you going to keep me waiting either way?

Kostas felt a sudden heat upon reading that. Part of that was because he was admittedly a little nervous about the whole thing, but it was mostly because he hadn’t expected that. It hardly felt like a question; more like an expectation. He was going to talk to her right this instant.

“Holy shit, okay…” he couldn't help but utter to himself. Without even sending a clarification text, he called her number and put his phone to his ear, nervously waiting to see if she picked up.

“Ah, it's you,” he eventually heard her voice on the other side. “Good choice.”

“Did I have one?” Kostas jokingly said, skipping over the pleasantries much like she had. 

“I honestly would've been fine with waiting, but if you're that eager…” 

“I mean, if you don't want to talk anymore…”

“I didn't say that,” she pointed out. “Go on, then.”

Despite himself, Kostas clamped up immediately. He remembered now how intimidating she’d been to speak to and a big part of that was due to how she spoke. Her tone of voice was consistently serious and sophisticated, but not to the point where she seemed arrogant or demanding. 

And of course, her accent. It was just very pleasant to listen to. All she’d done was give him a simple prompt, without any hint of playfulness or flirtation, and he was stuck standing there like a complete idiot waiting for it to be repeated back to him.

“So, you and Decapre…are the two of you twins?”

“We are,” she answered after a noticeable silence. “She's the older one, though.”

“Oh, wow. I’ve gotta say, the resemblance is very striking. Only…the two of you sound so different.”

“Ah, that. Decapre spent a good part of her life in Russia; she only started living here recently, obviously not long enough to fully integrate or what have you.”

For a moment, Kostas considered asking why Decapre had been in Russia - more specifically, away from her sister - but ultimately decided against it. If that mark on her face was a wound like Cammy had hinted it was, he suspected it was nothing good.

“Well, she seems to be happy here, from what little I’ve seen and heard,” he said, deciding to keep things light. “You two seem close.”

“We are now,” Cammy replied somewhat cryptically, the slightest hint of regret in her voice.

“You mean you weren't always?”

“We had a…bit of a rough patch. One that lasted for a good while.” He could tell there was a lot more to that story, but he opted not to push her for details. “Still, that's all in the past. I hold no ill will towards her - I never have, even when things were at their worst.”

“Good. That's good,” he said when nothing else came to mind. The truth that he wasn't willing to admit was that this story hit a little close to home. “I'm happy that things worked out for you.”

“Me too,” said Cammy, and she very clearly meant it. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean for things to get so sappy so quickly.”

“You don't have to apologize,” he assured her. “You also don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“I appreciate that, but…” 

Cammy stopped then, and again, Kostas couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made a misstep. It was clear to him that her past was a little messy and because of that, he was trying to keep his curiosity in check. But this revelation about Decapre told him he’d need to walk on more eggshells than he initially thought.

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” she insisted after some time. “Talking about things as they were lets me better appreciate things as they are. You can ask me whatever comes to mind, but that said, I don’t want you to end up feeling like my counselor. I won’t overshare.”

Kostas found himself unsure of what to say. His hunch had been right, but in a weird way, it was almost relieving. She was choosing to share all this with him, regardless of the fact they’d only really known each other for a few hours. Yet as strange as it was, it already felt like he’d known her for much longer.

He couldn't help but wonder if she felt something similar. He wasn't naive enough to think she trusted him, but she was comfortable with him. And that was a very promising sign.

“Cammy?”

“Yes?”

Originally, he spoke without even knowing what question to ask. She was just so intriguing; the little bits and pieces she fed him only made him want to know more. But where on Earth should he start?

“What exactly do you do for a living?”

Deciding to play it safe at the start, he waited for her answer, only to be met with a laugh instead. “What’s so funny?” he asked, more than a little confused.

“My cat,” was her sudden reply. “I work in the Civil Service.”

“Meaning what, exactly?”

“I work for the Crown government,” she said. 

“And?”

“Is that not impressive enough for you?”

“It's very impressive, but…” “Trust me, it’s really not. I work for the Probation Service; it’s not the most glamorous job in the world, but it pays the bills. And, well, when someone truly deserves a second chance at a normal life…it’s good to see them get that chance.”

That certainly hadn’t been Kostas’s first guess, but then again, he had no idea what was and wasn’t a civil servant in the U.K. or anywhere, really - social sciences weren’t exactly his strong suit. That said, Cammy didn’t seem like someone who worked some quiet desk job in some obscure government agency. She seemed like she’d lead a more…active lifestyle.

“I guess so,” he said. “So, are you like an officer or do you just file the requests?”

“The former,” she revealed.

“Really? Does it get stressful?” 

“Sometimes. The usual type of stress, though - high work loads, bureaucracy, the whole lot. What I do isn’t particularly dangerous.” 

“I’d hope not, considering the type of people you’d be dealing with,” said Kostas. 

“The risk is there. It’s just minimal. But that doesn’t mean that reintegration is an easy process. I won’t bore you with the details, but there’s a lot I need to keep track of.”

“Like what?” he asked. “That hardly sounds boring.”

He noticed that she took a brief pause before answering, probably because she wasn't expecting this level of interest. “Well, for one, whether the bargain is working for them. Whether their environment is suitable for them, whether they have opportunities for work or education, whether they’ve reoffended; really, it’s a two-way effort.”

“And you're not the type to give up on someone?” 

Another pause followed, but somehow, he knew she was smiling on the other end. “Not if I can help it,” she replied.

She sounded quite passionate on the subject, even if it was a reserved type of passion. He doubted her work inspired much excitement, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t important and hopefully, fulfilling for her. Kostas couldn’t help but admire that.

“Well, whoever it is you're helping now, I’m sure they're in good hands.”

“I can’t say I’m a miracle worker,” she commented. “But thank you.” 

He wanted to offer additional words of support, but they frankly felt unnecessary. Cammy seemed quite humble, which apart from being a breath of fresh air from the entitlement he so often saw on the job, also made her quite easy to talk to. And he really, really wanted to keep talking to her. He wasn't one to sing the praises of someone he’d only just met, especially not to suck up to them, but Cammy was…well…

“Juni was right. You are cool.”

He didn't know why he said that. The moment he did, he wished he hadn't and started scrambling to find a way to take it back…only to be met by soft laughter.

“She did not say that.” 

The moment he heard this, Kostas decided to just roll with it. “Oh, she did,” he insisted. “I wasn't kidding when I said you were her hero.”

“I’m…” Cammy suddenly stopped herself. “I’m grateful for her. Truly.”

He could tell this wasn’t what she initially meant to say, but whatever that was, he decided it wasn’t worth pressing about. But there was something else he was curious about. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, did Juni…?”

“Recommend you to me?” she said, effectively finishing his question for him. “She did, but I can assure you the choice was my own.”

Kostas couldn’t say he was that surprised, but her answer left him lost for words nonetheless. Juni was a wonderful person, but he had to admit that he didn’t consider them to be particularly close friends - even calling her a friend at all felt like a stretch. She was a customer, someone he saw every so often and could have a conversation with if he had the time…and someone who, for whatever reason, went ahead and set him up with her absolute knockout of a sister.

Needless to say, he felt terrible for ever thinking that way.

“I see,” was all he could say at first. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Should I tell her to expect a discount on her next visit?” Cammy framed this more as a suggestion than an actual question, but this was more or less what Kostas had in mind. It was the least he could do.

“No, but don't tell her she shouldn't either,” he instructed. “Actually, don’t tell her anything at all.”

“Hmm…okay, then,” she agreed, sounding quite amused with the whole thing. “Just don't be surprised if you see me with her then.”

“Please, you can come by whenever you want. Not like I’m going to refuse you service.”

It honestly surprised Kostas how readily he threw this offer out there. Sure, they already had a date planned, but anything past that was still up in the air or at least, that was what a rational person should recognize. The thing was that Kostas wasn't really thinking rationally. All he could think about was how much he wanted to see more of her, to learn more about this strange woman he never even expected to meet. 

Maybe he was trying his luck, maybe she’d given him too much of an ego boost, but that didn't change that Kostas felt confident about this whole thing. And that confidence hadn't failed him yet.

“I would hope not,” Cammy finally said in response to his offer. “Now, any more questions you don’t want to save for Thursday?”

Kostas was confused for a second, until he finally realized that they never actually agreed on a date to meet. At least one of them managed to remember that.

“Yes,” he said. “But I think I’ll save them anyway. Meet you there at 6:00?”

“Meet me where?” 

“I’ll send you the address,” he quickly saved himself, realizing he hadn’t given her the cafe’s name either. “You’ll love it, don’t worry.”

“I’m sure,” she replied. “Good luck with your class tomorrow.”

“Oh, shit, class,” he thought to himself. “Don’t remind me,” he sarcastically said, hiding the gratitude he felt for her doing exactly that. “Still have a few pages of review to get through before bed.”

“Then you’d best get to it,” Cammy all but ordered. “It was nice meeting you, Kostas.”

“Yeah, you too,” he sputtered, more than a little disappointed their conversation was finally over. “See you soon, Cammy.”

“Of course. Good night, now.”

With that final confirmation, she hung up, leaving Kostas to walk the rest of the way home in silence. All in all, he felt quite happy with himself. Between the messages and the call, they had talked for the better part of an hour, yet that just didn't feel like enough. Something about Cammy fascinated him, more than anyone he’d met in years. And that was because there was obviously much, much more to her than she was letting on.

Her past with Decapre, her supposed job as a parole officer; he didn’t know why, but it felt like what she’d told him on those subjects were only portions of the truth. Maybe he was letting his imagination get away from him, excited by the idea of getting tied up with some larger than life stranger…no, that was definitely it. 

He was just bored. The monotony of his studies had been unexpectedly broken and he was still riding that temporary high, making it seem more exciting than it really was. A date with a beautiful, interesting woman was more than enough, regardless of who she really was.

“ But just who is she? ” Kostas still couldn’t help but think, over and over again. There was no way around it - he needed to know about her. It was such a strange feeling, such an exciting feeling. 

Thursday couldn’t come soon enough.

...

Chapter Text

48…49…50.

With one fluid motion, Cammy pushed herself off the ground and back onto her feet. Sweat trailed down her forehead while she stood and took deep, well-paced breaths, trying her damndest to keep her focus on the workings of her body and not on the thing that had spurred her to hit the gym to begin with.

To put it simply, she was frustrated, and whenever she got frustrated, it was a difficult feeling for her to shake. 

Deciding she’d had enough of warm-up exercises, she wiped down her mat and shifted over to the dumbbells, doing several sets of curls, raises and rows. She didn’t go for particularly heavy weights, sticking around the range of 5-15 kilograms for most of her workout; given her speed-focused fighting style, she had little use for pure strength training, though it would’ve been foolish to neglect it regardless.

Cammy kept to herself as she usually did and while she did her best to drown out her surroundings, she could tell the few other gym goers present were wary of her, probably because it was pretty easy to see she was in a foul mood at the moment. 

The last couple of days had mostly been dedicated to a personal investigation of hers, one that was based on a hunch she’d had for years now. Officially, Shadaloo has been dead in the water for years, the final blow coming when M. Bison was killed in a final raid on his headquarters. Cammy didn’t doubt that account; she saw it all happen, after all. What she doubted was whether that victory was as decisive as it seemed.

While a good percentage of their operatives had been rounded up, a few were bound to slip through the cracks. As to where they ended up and what they were doing now, no one could really say. That reality was frustrating enough, but even worse, she felt she knew exactly where many of them were now concentrated…but was unable to do anything about it.

Some time ago, she learned of an up-and-coming robotics company by the name of SiRn. It was like they came out nowhere, beginning as a start-up in Colorado before expanding to other states and recently, overseas. Only recently, they’d opened a location right here in London, just sizable enough for her to take notice. This expansion was swift and unexpected, raising the question of just where their finances were coming from.

Several investigations later and not a shred of evidence of wrongdoing has been found, but Cammy remained unconvinced. All of the answers were staring her right in the face: where they got their money, what the foundation for their business was; and all of it was in the name.

Before its collapse, Shadaloo had a weapons division by the name of S.I.N., who among other things, specialized in robotics. The machines they produced were decades ahead of most developed nations, something that would’ve proven quite lucrative if they chose to take their talents elsewhere. And that’s exactly what she believed happened. After Seth’s botched powerplay, several of S.I.N.'s scientists went into hiding, evading both authorities and their former Shadaloo masters while they regrouped. From her own investigations, the approximate date of SiRn’s startup would’ve been before Shadaloo went under, giving them plenty of time to get this new venture of theirs off the ground. 

The problem was she had no proof of any of this. Nobody did. Yet it all seemed so bloody obvious to her.

At the moment, she was pouring that negative energy into her bench press, aiming to set a new record with 20 kilogram dumbbells. Partway through, she heard her phone vibrate on the floor; after finishing with a final rep count of 30, she picked up her phone and sat back on the bench she’d been using to check what it had been for, finding that it was a short text from Kostas.

Hey. We still on for tonight?

Cammy had been so lost in her own thoughts that she came close to responding with, “On for what?”, before the realization came to her naturally. She was supposed to have a date tonight - her first proper date.

After spending more time than was needed simply staring at her screen, she gave an answer.

Of course. We’re still meeting at 6, right?

She put the phone down to do another set of bench press with slightly heavier weights and by the time she was done, she had her answer.

That’s the plan. I’ll let you know if something comes up, tho

Despite herself, Cammy couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Not because she was bothered by how forthright he was being, but because she found it quite endearing. She could tell he liked to make sure things stayed organized.

Likewise.

As she sent another reply his way, she smiled for the first time that day. She still had her doubts about this whole arrangement, but at the very least, Kostas seemed like a pleasant young man. Their phone conservation the prior week had given her a much clearer picture of him; attentive, quick-witted and surprisingly bold. All-in-all, an inviting package as far as men go.

Did all that mean she was looking forward to seeing him? That was a bit hard to say.

She’d never given much thought to dating, nor did she ever have much of a desire to engage in it. It seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth, especially when it involved a civilian like Kostas. She already wasn’t the most open person in the world and her MI6 upbringing put even more restrictions on how she could present herself. In short, she had no choice but to go out with a mask. 

Then again, if all that was really so much of a problem for her, she could’ve just backed out. But she hadn’t, so maybe that was enough to answer that earlier question.

Maybe.

…

After working out for about another half hour, Cammy took a quick shower in the locker room and then headed home. For the most part, she was in a much better mood than she was when she came in, though still somewhat grumpy. She was more than capable of keeping her emotions in check if needed, but giving what she was supposed to be doing tonight, being in a position where she had to wasn’t quite ideal. 

Thankfully, it was still fairly early in the afternoon, giving her ample time to prepare. Now, the task was figuring out how she was supposed to prepare.

It was just past 3:30 when she reached home, entering her flat to find Juni and Decapre laying out ingredients on their kitchen counter. The two seemed to be locked in conversation and while Cammy locked the door, put away her keys and walked over to greet them, she overheard just a bit of it.

“I mean, we can always try finding someone online,” Juni said. “I know I wouldn’t want to be living all alone.”

“Alone would be preferable for me, at least for the first little while,” Decapre replied. “Besides, I think I’d be a little hard to market, so to speak.”

“I mean, I don’t want to say that, but if it’s what you want…”

“It is. I appreciate your concern, Juni. Really, I do. But…” 

Decapre paused for a moment when she finally noticed Cammy’s arrival, the two of them briefly locking eyes from across the room. Without even having heard the rest of her conversation with Juni, Cammy understood exactly what it had been centered around.

“I don’t know…” Decapre said with a sigh, turning back to Juni. “I just need a bit more time to think everything over.”

“As long as you need,” Juni sweetly said, placing her hand over hers. “We’ll be here for you. Always.”

Decapre averted her eyes, but nonetheless managed a small smile. “I know.”

As much as she didn’t want to interrupt her sisters, Cammy finally decided to make her way further into their flat, something which finally made Juni notice her. And what she was met with was an uncharacteristically cross look. 

“Where have you been?!” she demanded, catching Cammy by complete surprise.

“I told you, I was blowing off some steam.”

“Have you seen what time it is? We have to get you ready.”

“There’s still plenty of time, Juni,” she rightfully pointed out, not that it was going to do anything. 

“And you’re not going to waste another second of it.” Turning on her heel, she started making her way over to their bedroom. “Have you showered?” she stopped and asked when Cammy didn’t start following.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Good. Let’s get you spiffed up, then. Come on.”

This time, she started walking and didn’t stop, disappearing down the hall and through their bedroom door, leaving Cammy alone with Decapre. When she glanced over at her, her sister merely shrugged and tilted her head in the direction Juni had gone in, prompting her to go on ahead.

With that final push, Cammy relented. “God help me…” she muttered under her breath.

“I don’t think He can,” she heard Decapre say behind her, then a quiet chuckle when Cammy sighed in response. As much as she wanted to have her own talk with Decapre about what she’d heard, hopefully not too derivative of the one she’d had with Juni, what little she’d overheard of that told her it was better she had some alone time for now.

Besides, Cammy had other matters to attend to. 

…

“Are you sure about this?” 

“What did I say about overthinking, Cammy?” Juni playfully reminded her as she brought her in front of a full body mirror she kept in her room, giving her a proper view of the outfit she’d be wearing tonight. “See? Absolutely perfect.” 

Putting Juni’s hyperbole aside, Cammy quite liked the outfit she’d helped her pick out. Given her and Kostas weren’t going anywhere high end, they’d ended up going with a blue and white sundress and a pair of white ballet flats. But even so, she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing.

“Oh, would you relax?” Juni urged her. “If you’re that worried about impressing him, I can promise you that’s going to take next to no effort.”

“Really? Is he that shallow?”

“Now, now, don’t be like that. Remember, don’t put any pressure on him or on yourself. Just…be yourself.”

“And now, you see the crux of the problem.” 

Judging from the silence that followed, Juni indeed knew exactly what she meant and didn’t have an easy way to quell her worries. Rather than letting the silence hang, her sister gently patted her on the shoulder, maintaining her infectious smile. “Well, as much of yourself as you’re willing to put forward,” she amended her previous statement. “Again, no pressure.”

Cammy couldn’t help but sigh as she looked herself over in the mirror. She knew that Juni was right, that at this stage, there were no real expectations of her besides showing up and giving Kostas a fair shake. And she very much wanted to give him a fair shake. 

“No pressure,” she repeated after Juni, turning away from the mirror and retrieving her purse from a nearby chair. Somehow, this entire process had taken close to an hour to complete, meaning she had about that same amount of time before she had to meet Kostas. “Well, here goes nothing.”

“Have fun! And remember to take pictures!” Juni called out to her.

“I will,” Cammy called back, grabbing her keys and a pair of sunglasses off a shelf by the entryway, storing the former away in her purse and putting the latter on as she made her way to the door.

“And do play nice.” 

Stopping just as she was about to turn the knob, Cammy turned her head back towards their sofa, finding Decapre cooking up something or another in their open kitchen, to the point she didn’t even bother glancing in her direction. Despite this, Cammy smiled for the first time that afternoon.

“I will,” she repeated one more time before finally stepping out of their flat and setting off. It wasn’t a terribly long way to the address Kostas provided, but she nevertheless found herself feeling…well, she couldn’t quite say what. Definitely not anxious. Eager, perhaps?

Whatever it was, it led her to take out her phone and shoot him another text.

…

Kostas was already on the bus when he received it. He’d opted to play a few games of Solitaire to keep himself out of his head, but clearly that wasn’t in the cards anymore. Putting his current session on pause, he checked his messages to see if it was good or bad news.

Are you on your way?

To be determined, he supposed. While they’d confirmed with each-other both yesterday and this morning that their date was going ahead as scheduled, Kostas knew that things didn’t always turn out as planned. Still, if she’d ended up changing her mind, she could’ve just said nothing.

Yeah. I’m actually almost there

You?

Thankfully, he didn’t even manage to make a move in his game before his concerns were put to rest.

Same.

Thought the trip would take me longer, to be honest.

Yet again, Kostas couldn’t help but appreciate her responsiveness. He’d never had an easier time coordinating with anyone: friends, family, and especially other prospective partners. That alone made him determined not to fuck this up.

Not complaining. Guess we get to meet a little sooner than expected 

He only managed to compose about half of his follow up message before Cammy sent a couple back. 

Guess so.

Same plan otherwise?

He didn’t know why, but Kostas found this rather straightforward response weirdly endearing. He could tell she wasn’t much of a flirt, at least not in the traditional sense; if he had to guess, she liked to let her actions do most of the talking. And given she’d yet to back out, the message was clear. 

Yep. If you can’t find me for some reason, I’m wearing a black jacket

See you in a bit!

He briefly put his phone aside in order to get off the bus, but when he brought it back out upon exiting, he was met with an…odd reply.

I think I already do.

Confused, Kostas looked around the surrounding street corner, finding no sign of her amidst the fairly sizable crowd. He really couldn’t see how she could’ve possibly picked him out with such a limited description, at least not without him being able to do the same.

You want to give me a signal?

After sending this message, he observed his surroundings one more time, once again failing to see her anywhere. He must’ve done this upwards of three times before he started walking further up the street to see if that would help him spot her and still, he received nothing from her, not a text and certainly not a signaling wave. Was he being pranked?

“Looking for someone?”

“Jesus!” Kostas nearly jumped out of skin, sharply looking behind him to find a young woman in a blue sundress and orange sunglasses standing behind him. A quick lookover told him that this was indeed Cammy, what with the short blonde hair and scar on her right cheek. That left him with only one question.

“Where the hell did you come from?

“The bus stop down the road that way,” she casually said while motioning to the right with her head. “Figured I’d go for a stroll while I waited for you and lo and behold, there you were.”

It wasn’t the most satisfying explanation in the world, but he could somehow tell that was the best one he was getting. “Well, sorry I kept you waiting,” he decided to say.

“No need,” she assured him. “You’re still technically early.”

“Technically. Right.” For a moment, the two of them simply stood there on the street corner, with Kostas taking the chance to let the last of his freight subside before speaking again. “Hi, Cammy.”

“Hello,” she responded in kind, the subtlest hint of a smile forming on the edges of her mouth. “Checking to make sure it’s me, are you?”

“I don’t doubt it’s you,” he said. “I’m just wondering how I managed to miss you.”

“When I look like this, you mean?”

“You do look quite nice.” 

“Mmm,” she quietly hummed, making him a bit unsure as to how well she took the compliment. “Shall we?”

“Let’s,” he agreed, allowing the two of them to begin the short walk to their destination. 

Thinking of topics for small talk proved to be a little more difficult than he expected, not just because he’d run through most of the things he wanted to ask her during their phone exchange, but also because of Cammy’s uniquely imposing presence. Not physically imposing, given he was almost a head taller than her and more built. No, it was all in the way she carried herself: stoic, confident and assertive; like she was there with only one goal in mind and wouldn’t tolerate any interruptions. 

But instead of finding all this unnerving, it just added to that sense of mystery about her. Something about her just felt so dangerous, and he couldn’t help but be drawn in.

“How’s work, then?” Kostas finally broke the silence, drawing Cammy’s gaze to him. 

“Rather uneventful,” she said. “I’ve been taking a bit of a step back recently - not quite a holiday, but close enough to one.”

“By choice?”

“By suggestion. Juni thought it would be good for me.”

“Has it been?”

There was a slight pause before she answered, like she genuinely had to weigh all the pros and cons before answering, as strange as that was. “It’s been nice. Seeing more of her and Decapre is always nice,” she said. “But I guess I’m just inherently restless.”

“That a fancy way of saying workaholic?”

It was slightly faint, but that got a small chuckle out of her. “Sure,” she conceded. “It helps that I never feel like I’m just working for the sake of working.”

“I feel like a lot of people would envy that.”

“Do you?” 

Just like that, she turned the conversation around. Cammy’s question didn’t come across as judgemental or anything like that, but it wasn’t one that he’d really stopped to consider until then. “Hmm…” 

When he thought he was close to an answer, he saw the sign for the cafe they were supposed to be going to. “Cups & Felynes. That’s us,” he said to Cammy, whose attention was quickly drawn to the shop window as they got closer, where they could already see two tabby cats, one brown and the other cream-coloured, lounging on one those towers he’d often see in pet shops and the like. One of them raised its head to look at her through the window as she got a little closer and leaned forward to get a better look at it. As she did, Kostas saw her smile a proper, happy smile; just like that, she somehow seemed like a completely different person, even if he’d only really known her for a few hours at most. It was adorable. 

“Go on in and get a closer look,” he called out to get her attention while he opened the door. “I’ll find us a spot.”

Tearing herself away from the window, she strided over with her usual composure and entered the cafe while he held the door open for her, giving him a grateful look as she walked past. Following close behind her, he handled the arrangements with the greeter as promised, letting Cammy wander off to see the cats that had gotten her attention face-to-face. As absorbed as she ended up getting, she joined him in following the greeter to their seat, which thankfully wasn’t too difficult for them to get. 

The cafe itself was a bit smaller than the one Kostas worked at, but had a similar cozy atmosphere about it. The place was well-lit and not super cluttered with things like tables, sofas and in this case, structures for the resident cats to climb around on, though there seemed to be just enough to keep them happily occupied. Not that Kostas would know - he’d never been too much of a cat person, so he couldn’t make a judgment on how adequate the accommodation was. 

Cammy, on the other hand, clearly loved what she was saying. Her head kept turning from side to side as a new cat caught her eye; if he hadn’t been there, he felt she would’ve gone off to inspect each and every one of them. Even when they found a cat resting on one of the armchairs they were supposed to be seated at, she was a little hesitant to shoo it off, instead taking the time to greet and pet it before scooping it off and putting it back on the floor. 

He definitely made the right call bringing her here. 

“Sorry about that,” Cammy apologized once they were settled in, finally taking off her sunglasses and setting it down on the table. 

“About what? That’s half the reason we’re here, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s certainly a reason, but…” “A pretty big reason. You can be honest,” he cut in, partly because he wanted to have a little fun with her and partly because he knew exactly where she meant to go with that statement.

“I was going to say I’ll try not to let myself get too distracted,” she said, making a point to lean forward to show he had her undivided attention. “On that note, I don’t believe I’ve gotten an answer from you yet.”

Rather than asking her for clarification, Kostas tried his best to recall her earlier question himself. “Oh, right,” he said when it came back to him. “No, I wouldn’t say I’m one of those people.”

“Really? So you’re satisfied with where you are right now?”

“Well, I’m definitely not working my dream job, if that’s what you think I meant,” said Kostas. “But I like it well enough. My supervisor is reasonable enough, the vibes of the place are nice and I guess most importantly, I don’t feel like a leech.”

“A leech? To whom?”

“My cousin. He’s been letting me stay with him while I’m in school; him and my uncle back home are also where I’ve been getting most of my tuition money from. Figured I’d at least try to pitch in a little to make up for that.” 

“I see,” said Cammy. “That’s…commendable.” 

The pause in her compliment was due to an orange cat leaping up onto the table separating them, paying the two of them no mind at first. Looking back over to her for a second, he found her staring at him like a kid would look at their parents when they saw something they really wanted, a type of thing that was very hard to say no to. 

“All yours,” he told her, watching as she clicked her tongue in order to get its attention, after which she started petting it on the head.

“You’re not going to join in?” Cammy asked after a little while.

“I’m good,” said Kostas. “I prefer to just admire animals for the most part.”

“Why not make an exception?” Upon saying this, she stopped with her pampering, leaning back in her chair and turning her eyes back on him. “Go on, before it runs off,” she prompted while motioning to the cat, which already seemed to be getting restless. 

Realizing he didn’t have much of a choice, Kostas reached out in order to pet its back, only to stop when he saw Cammy raise a finger in warning. “Best not to surprise it,” she explained. “Get its attention first.”

Figuring she knew what she was talking about, he mimicked the clicking noise she’d used earlier and succeeded in getting their visitor to turn towards him. “There you go,” he quietly said to it as he tried reaching out to it again, but stopped yet again when the cat started sniffing his hand.

“That’s good what you’re doing,” he heard Cammy say. “Try touching it now.”

After letting it sniff his hand for a little bit longer, Kostas reached behind the cat’s head and gently stroked along its back; when he saw no resistance, he repeated the motion a few more times, occasionally glancing Cammy’s way in case she had any more insight to share. 

“You should probably stop now,” she eventually said. “They typically don’t like being touched there for too long.”

“Oh.” Upon hearing that, he reluctantly took his hands off the cat, which he noticed seemed just a bit more tense than before. “Sorry, buddy.”

In response, the cat simply yawned and circled their table one more time before leaping back down to the floor, much to Cammy’s clear disappointment. 

“Shame. I quite liked him.”

“We can go and try to get him back,” Kostas suggested, feeling ever so slightly guilty for scaring him off.

“If he wants to come back, he’ll come back,” she said before turning back to him. “Now, where were…”

A new distraction came in the form of their greeter, a girl that would’ve been just barely older than Kostas, who came up to check on them. Before she got too close, he could hear Cammy quietly sigh to herself.

“I see the residents are treating you well?”, she said.

“Quite,” Cammy politely replied. “You have an excellent group here.”

“Don’t I know it. So, is there anything I can get you two while you make yourself comfortable?”

This question gave Kostas an idea - a bit of a risky idea, but one he only had a split second to decide whether he should go through on. “An espresso and some lemon cake for me,” he said before Cammy could get a word in, before adding on, “And a mocha and some apple pie for the lady.”

He could feel his date looking at him out of the corner of her eye; sneaking a quick peek himself, he could tell right away that he’d surprised her and given she wasn’t glaring at him, he would assume pleasantly. 

“What he said,” she confirmed with the greeter, which came as a relief to Kostas.

After taking a moment to take a quick note of their orders, the greeter looked back up at them. “We’ll get that for you right away. Sorry if I interrupted you.”

“Thank you,” Kostas said to her before she went off, leaving him and Cammy alone once again. Both of them remained silent after they turned back towards each-other and Kostas couldn’t help but smile as she narrowed her eyes at him; however, it only took a few seconds for her to give a smile of her own.

“You have a good memory,” she complimented. 

“We get a lot of regulars. Usually they order more or less the same thing, so I’ve gotten pretty good at making mental notes of those.”

“Have you now?” 

“You sound like you don’t believe me,” he noted.

“Oh, not at all. I just get the feeling your memory’s somewhat selective in that regard.” 

“Some people’s usuals are easier to remember than others,” he acknowledged. “Juni, for example, almost always orders what you ordered for her the day we met - a caramel mocha and a bit of cheesecake. Pretty easy.”

“She doesn’t have the most varied diet in the world,” Cammy said. “It also doesn’t take very much to satisfy her in that regard.”

“I noticed.” And he didn’t just say that for the sake of conversation. Almost every time he saw her, Juni did the exact same thing; ordered her usual, chatted with him for a little bit while it was prepared, then sat down and read for upwards of an hour while she enjoyed her drink. She really did seem like someone who enjoyed and cherished the simple things in life. 

“Say, you three all live together, right?”

At first, Cammy seemed a little confused about how he knew this, but it wasn’t long until she realized why. “Oh, right. Juni told you, I take it?”

“Yep,” he confirmed. “Sorry if it feels like I’m cheating a little, by the way.”

“Please, that girl is an open book,” she said. “I’d be more concerned if you didn’t know half of these things.”

“You think she’s a good judge of character?”

“Should I not?” 

That shut him up really quick. She didn’t even change her tone of voice, but just the way she stared him down after the fact gave him the slightest twinge of fear. All this was in spite of how obvious the answer he should be giving her was. 

“Ye…no. No, you shouldn’t.”

Cammy seemed to find this little stumble of his very, very amusing, if the smug smirk on her face was anything to go by. “Thought so,” she casually stated, which left him a bit unsure of whether he should feel relieved or not. “So, then, what else would you like to know about my…living arrangements?”

“Nothing much,” he said as his confidence returned to him. “How’re you finding it?”

“Why, I couldn’t ask for better flatmates. Juni and I have been living together for the better part of a decade now; Decapre only moved in with us a few years back, but she’s settled in quite well.” 

Kostas recalled the vague comments Cammy had made about her past with Decapre, which made that whole arrangement rather interesting to him. “And what brought that about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“She…let’s just say she needed some time to get back on her feet. Juni and I told her she was welcome to stay with us for as long as she needed, but she’s been pretty eager to get to a point where she can support herself.” 

“Really? Good for her,” he commented, and sincerely at that. He could always respect initiative like that.

“Good for her, indeed,” Cammy concurred, though he noticed something slightly off about the way she said it. 

“You don’t sound super thrilled about that,” he noted.

Apparently, he’d managed to take her by surprise, given it took a moment before she spoke again. “Hmm, shrewd, too,” she noted to herself out loud, both complimenting him and acknowledging his observation at the same time. “I’m happy for her, I really am, but I sometimes feel like I’m doing her harm as well as good.”

“How’s that?”

“Being with us…well, me specifically, tends to bring back unpleasant memories for her. She’s said so herself. She doesn’t hold that against me or anything like that, but I know that’s not something you want to deal with day in, day out.”

“I can imagine,” was all Kostas managed to say to that at first. Given how complicated this whole situation seemed to be, it really wasn’t his place to make any judgements or conclusions about it; really, he probably should just keep his nose out of it entirely.  

“You’re not prying,” Cammy suddenly assured him, which made him realize he must’ve gone silent for a good while. “I’m not scared to admit any of this.”

“Oh, that’s good,” he awkwardly replied, slightly shifting in his seat as he readjusted herself. He hadn’t forgotten what she’d said to him the last time they talked, about how he should feel free to ask her whatever questions he wanted, but he didn’t see that as meaning he didn’t have to think twice about what he said. After all, there were plenty of things he probably didn’t want her asking him at this stage.

“Anyway, it’s good that you’re helping her out,” he added on, deciding to keep things light. 

“She’d do the same for me,” Cammy said without a moment’s hesitation. He might not know the exact details about her past with Decapre, but there was no doubting how much she cared for her. 

“Do you have any siblings, Kostas?” 

For the first time that day, he found himself just a little hesitant to answer. “Oh, no, I’m an only child.”

“Do you ever wish you did?”

“It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about,” he admitted. “I guess my cousin sort of filled that void for me.”

“Ah, right, your cousin,” she said. “You haven’t mentioned his name yet, have you?”

“Michalis,” Kostas answered. “But he just goes by Michael nowadays.”

“I think I prefer Michalis. Greek names are quite lovely,” she noted in a way that almost seemed random, if it weren’t for the fact she maintained constant eye contact with him. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but get just a little flustered. 

“Are you two close?” 

“Well, he hasn’t kicked me out yet, so…” Once again, he succeeded in getting a small chuckle out of her.

“It was an honest question.”

“I know, I know,” he conceded, resolving to give her a proper answer this time. “Yeah, I’d say we’re pretty close. Granted, he’s like a decade older than me, but he’s been there to keep me out of trouble, get me out of trouble and whatever else…well, pretty much as long as I can remember.”

“Ah, so he’s more of a role model for you, then?”

“I don’t think I’d ever say that to him, but sure.”

“And why is that?” With the way Cammy perked up, he could tell he’d piqued her curiosity. He also noticed that there were one or two burning questions she was refraining from asking him, which he was sure were on her mind as they spoke. 

Well, he assumed they were, anyway. And if they were, he appreciated her restraint.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’m not really sure how I’d go about doing it.”

“It doesn’t need to be complicated. Really, you don’t even need to use those exact words. Gratitude can be expressed in a lot of different ways.”

“Gratitude…” For whatever reason, that word stuck out to him. “I’ve never acted ungrateful to him,” he said, not as a response to what Cammy said, but as more of a general observation.

“And maybe for you two, that’s enough,” she acknowledged. “But if you ever feel like it isn’t, do consider being a bit more open with him.”

This wasn’t exactly groundbreaking advice, but it did make Kostas briefly stop and consider his lot. Sometimes, he did feel like he was riding on Michael’s coattails, but at the same time, his cousin was always adamant that all he wanted was to give him the means to make something of himself. 

“He expects me to do well, so I’m going to do well,” he said to Cammy. “I guess I can always tell him something to that same effect, but I say talk is cheap.” 

There was a brief pause where his date seemed to digest what he’d told her. “Hmm, interesting,” she soon uttered. “I take it you’re the ‘actions over words’ type, then?” 

“Guess so,” was all he could say. “Are you?”

“Mostly,” she replied. “But I do think kind words from the right person can go a long way.”

The catch to that statement seemed pretty obvious to him, and it wasn’t one he disagreed with. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he told her.

“You do that.” Leaning back into her armchair, Cammy maintained eye contact with him across the table. There was something so intense about it all, and the longer it went on, the more he felt that strange thrill stirring up again. That’s not to say that Kostas was scared of her at that moment - far from it. He didn’t get the sense that she was silently judging him or picking him apart for weaknesses - no, somehow, he got the sense that she was just as intrigued by him as he was by her.

“You haven’t exhausted that list already, have you?” 

He could tell she was teasing him, almost daring him to go ahead and disappoint her, knowing full well he had no intention of doing so.

“Not even close.”

...

Chapter Text

True to his word, the questions kept coming for well over an hour and so, too, did Cammy’s answers. As far as he was concerned, she’d lived in London basically her entire life, growing up with an adoptive family in Richmond and graduating with a Bachelors in Sociology from King’s College; she trained in gymnastics and dabbled in horseback riding growing up, and still hit the gym whenever she had a free hour or two. She was also quite fond of traveling, having been everywhere from Russia to Jamaica.

Most of this wasn’t true, of course. It was one of many cover stories she’d crafted for herself, typically meant for more serious situations than this. She had to assume she’d sold it convincingly, considering Kostas hadn’t questioned a single thing she’d said so far. Not that she was proud of that.

The logic behind her decision was sound. He was still essentially a stranger and if she’d just given him the truth as it was - about the nature of her job and especially of her origin - he would probably walk away from this thinking she was a complete lunatic. As odd as it was to treat a civilian almost like one of her targets, this was an unfortunate, but necessary precaution if she wanted this to lead anywhere.

But this didn’t devolve into a one sided Q&A. As they talked, Cammy asked him about life in Cyprus, one place she never crossed off her bucket list, something he was more than happy to talk about. He also ended up telling her about his lifelong love for football, from the casual games he used to play after school to his current membership at Imperial College’s football club. One thing she was surprised to learn was that he quite enjoyed games of chance, a discussion that somehow led to him teaching her how to shoot dice. At the same time she was telling him a story about a particularly memorable “client” she once had at work.

“So what ended up happening to her?” Kostas asked, watching as she retrieved the pair of dice that the cafe’s greeter was kind enough to lend them.

“She moved back to Mexico. Last I heard, she ended up getting married to an old flame of hers. Apparently, he hadn’t given up on her, even after all that time.”

Cammy shifted the dice around with her fingers, softly smiling to herself to really sell the story to him. This one was mostly true, after all.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Kostas said. “I hope everything works out for them.”

“I hope so, too. She deserves it.”

There was a lot more that could’ve been said about this “client” of hers, but she wanted to keep things from turning too sentimental. Instead, she readied her dice, making sure that both of their 3s were facing up; after a moment’s deliberation, put forward a five pound note as her opening bet. “Pass.”

Her date similarly deliberated for a moment before making his own bet. “Crap,” he said as he put forth a tenner. With that, he sat back and rather confidently eyed her, waiting for her next move. “Well? The cats aren’t going to add to the pool.”

“Cheeky, aren’t we?” Cammy so desperately wanted to wipe that smug smirk off his face, and whether she’d be able to or not was entirely up to chance. “Fine.”

With that, she cast the dice on the table. Once both of them came to a stop, she cast her eye to check what amount they’d landed on. 

“Oh, bollocks to that!” She ended up rolling a two and a one for a total of three, meaning she has already lost the game, or as Kostas so eloquently put it, “crapped out”.

“You know, my uncle once told me that you can’t ever control the dice, so it’s not worth getting mad at them,” Kostas said for whatever reason. It was hard to tell if he was trying to make her feel better or if he was rubbing her face in her loss. The fact he was still smirking at her made her think it was more so the latter. “So, by that same principle, you shouldn’t be mad at me.”

Cammy scoffed. Genuinely scoffed. She could hardly believe the cheek on this boy. 

“Again.”

“What?” “Let’s play again,” she reiterated. “Or are you just going to run off with your winnings?”

“Cammy, this is just practice. I’m not actually going to take your money,” he reminded her.

“And I think you’re such a gentleman for that,” she said half-seriously, half-snarky. “But that also means there’s absolutely no stakes involved here. So why not play me again?”

For a moment, she succeeded in removing the smirk from his face, only for it to return in earnest soon after. “I got you hooked,” he noted.

“That’s what you were hoping for, wasn’t it? Now roll.”

They kept at this for at least another twenty minutes, continuing to exchange stories in between games. Kostas ended up winning most of them, but at some point, she started eking out a few wins of her own after she started taking the probability of rolling certain numbers into account. This hardly seemed to bother her date and good thing it didn’t; there were few things Cammy couldn’t stand more than a sore loser.

In any case, she could tell he was glad she’d taken to the game so well. He was right - he had her hooked.

They’d finished their food and drinks ages ago, every cat that could’ve possibly visited them had visited them, yet they just kept talking. As time went on, she could see that Kostas was becoming more and more comfortable with her, growing more and more daring as a result. A bit of teasing here, a subtle flirt there; just enough to keep their back and forth interesting. 

But what really kept her engaged was how attentive he was. As promised, he’d come with no shortage of questions and she did her best to answer all of them, truthfully or otherwise. A part of her was tempted to be more open with him, but in the end, her rationality prevailed. What really mattered was that even if what she was telling him wasn’t quite the truth, she could tell that his interest in her was genuine. 

As vain as it might have been to admit, she found herself enjoying the attention he was giving her. Most people tended to be wary of her, perhaps even scared of her - he clearly wasn’t. It was a refreshing change of pace. 

“Say, I just realized. You’re taking summer classes right now, aren’t you?”

“Really? You only just realized?” 

“For the sake of conversation, yes,” she said, paying no mind to his obvious teasing. “I’m assuming you’re crossing off your last handful of credits?”

“More or less,” Kostas replied. “If everything goes to plan, I just have this and one more year left, then I’ll be all done.”

“My, how exciting. It might be a little early for congratulations, but…”

“I’ll take it,” he said before she even finished her sentence.

“I haven’t given you any,” she pointed out.

“You can. I don’t mind.”

For a good while, Cammy could only stare back at him as he sat there waiting for her to say something. He was just having fun with her, that much she could tell, but what truly surprised her was how…receptive she was to it. The bit was incredibly childish, but if nothing else, she appreciated the added levity.

“As I was saying, do you have any plans after graduation?” 

“Any concrete plans? No,” he answered. “But I do have an internship lined up in the spring. The hope right now is that that’ll lead to something more official.”

“Ah. Congrats on that.” “Why, thank you,” he not so graciously accepted. It took her a moment to realize exactly why.

“You must be real proud of yourself, hmm?” She was sure he caught on to her sarcasm, if his enduring smirk was anything to go by.

“A little,” he admitted. “Though to be honest, I kind of got in through the back door.”

“How so?” “My cousin works at the company that hired me, so as you’d expect, he pulled a couple of strings to move me along in the recruiting process.”

As she digested this information, a small suspicion wormed its way into Cammy’s head. The supposed nepotism wasn’t that much of a concern for her - Kostas didn’t seem too proud of it himself, but in a field as competitive as his, an advantage like that went a long way. But it just so happened that said field happened to be engineering and while there was no shortage of companies that were looking for someone with that skill set, only one came to mind.

“And what’s the company called?” she asked him in the hopes of clearing up her suspicion. 

“Oh, SiRN.”

Just like that, her perception of everything he’d told her up until that point shifted dramatically. His cousin worked for SiRN? And he had enough influence to influence its management? If all that was true, and she had no reason to believe it wasn’t, then just how did he get into that position? Just what did he have in mind for Kostas?

“Hey, are you okay?” she heard Kostas ask, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, I…there was a cat slinking around just behind you. Got a little distracted.” He didn’t seem convinced by her explanation, but he must not have thought it was something worth pressing her on.

“Do you need me to repeat it?” “No, I think I heard you. You said SiRN, right?”

“Yep,” he confirmed, which only served to make that sinking feeling in her stomach worse. “You’ve heard of it?”

“Very vaguely,” she lied yet again. “What exactly do they do?”

“Well, they specialize in robotics - top of the line stuff, supposedly. They mostly produce stuff like drones, but they’ve got a handle on a lot of other industries. So, yeah, good resume material.”

“I bet,” she said, doing her best to avoid sounding bitter. “Hoping they’ll keep you after the internship runs its course?”

“Depends on how it goes, I guess,” he replied. “First, they need to think I’m worth keeping around, and then I need to think it’s worth staying around. I’d like to think it’s not my only option.”

Now that was interesting. If she understood him correctly, he viewed all this as little more than a learning experience for him, even with his familial ties taken into account. Either he was completely ignorant of the company’s true nature or he was fully aware of it and wanted nothing more to do with it. Both of those were welcome possibilities. Perhaps she could…

No. That wasn’t fair to him. That wasn’t what she was here for.

“In any case, I’m happy for you,” she decided to say. “It sounds like a good opportunity.”

“Thanks,” was his simple reply.

For the next little while, the two of them sat there in silence. Kostas seemed unsure of what to say at this point, so he settled for a sweet little smile, one she couldn’t help but return. He seemed so innocent, which made her currently conflicting feelings that much worse. If all of her suspicions were correct - about SiRN, about his cousin and about him - then she only saw things ending one way. They’d break him down, ensuring that all he’ll ever be was another cog in their twisted machine. 

It was all a bit much to take in, and Cammy quickly found herself feeling restless. “Would you like to go for a walk?” she asked her date, who she could see was growing concerned. Despite that, his answer was quick and simple.

“Sure.”

… 

Before they left, the two of them had a brief back-and-forth on how to handle their bill, which was to say they both insisted on paying it in full. Once it became clear neither of them were going to budge, they ended up going dutch on his suggestion; it really wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things, but if nothing else, he appreciated that him paying came down to choice and not necessity. 

Once that was sorted, and once Cammy said goodbye to the cats they’d seen resting by the entrance, the two of them stepped out into the cool evening air. The sun was close to setting by the time the two of them left, which made for quite a pleasant view as they made their way over to the nearby Hyde Park for a short stroll. Given how close it was to his campus, he’d already been through it quite a few times, but exactly where he went wasn’t really all that important at the moment. Just so long as they had somewhere to go.

As they walked, him and Cammy continued to chat about increasingly menial things, and even though they’d now been talking for a good two hours, he still didn’t find himself growing bored. It was hard to describe, but Cammy was the most British person he’d ever met. She seemed to take that “stiff upper lip” thing to its utmost extreme, which lends itself to a whole lot of deadpan; it took a little getting used to, but it also made it fun to mess with her. 

That said, there was just one slight concern he had. Since they’d left the cafe, she didn’t seem as present as before. He couldn’t say she was entirely disengaged, but every so often, it was like her mind was elsewhere.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked her well after they’d left the park. They were currently making their way to Cammy’s bus stop where he intended to see her off, so this was more or less his last chance to pose this question.

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “I just needed some air - the place was starting to feel a little stuffy.”

“But other than that, you liked it?” “I did. Very charming spot, very pleasant company.”

“You mean the cats, right?” 

This question earned him a sidewards glare, as well as a soft smile as she turned her focus back to the path. “Not exclusively,” was all she said.

This time, Kostas was a bit too flustered to reply, but in the end, he decided to just keep walking, smiling to himself as he exchanged small glances with her. He understood exactly what she meant to say with her first comment, but even so, having it spelt out for him was quite gratifying, as well as relieving. There was a small part of him that continued to worry the two of them wouldn’t mesh well, but he’d never been more happy to be proven wrong. 

“This was fun,” he eventually said to get her attention again. “Thank you for choosing Glass’s Cafe.” He was rewarded with a quiet chuckle. He’d yet to make her fully laugh, but just this felt like a feat in itself. 

“ I didn’t choose it,” she reminded him. “But good thing a certain someone did.”

“Yep.” He felt like everything that could’ve been said about that certain someone had already been said. She was a real one.

“Got anything planned after this?” Kostas asked after a bit.

“I guess I’ll just see what Juni and Decapre are up to when I get home,” she said with a shrug. “After that, I have to do a few things I need to do for work.”

“Nothing important, I hope.”

“Could be,” she said somewhat cryptically and as he couldn’t help but notice, after a good pause.

“If it is, don’t let me keep you.”

“Keep me?” After repeating after her, Cammy stopped and turned to face him, prompting him to do the same. “You make it sound like I’m having my time wasted.”

Yet again, Kostas found himself feeling unexpectedly awestruck. She didn’t sound annoyed or judgmental; she was simply making an observation. A very good observation, at that. He didn’t even mean for it to sound like that, but it did.

It’s not like he was looking for a way to get rid of her. Really, it was because he could still hardly believe that she was here with him at all. Someone who was a good bit older and established than he was; someone who should be completely out of his league. Yet here she was. 

“I’d really hope not,” he finally said to her. 

“Not in the slightest,” she assured him. With the sun now setting, Cammy took off her glasses and put them away in her purse, which also allowed her to make proper eye contact as she next addressed him. “Thank you for the wonderful evening, Kostas.”

“Yeah. Same to you.” He came so close to stammering this out, but thankfully, it all came out smoothly enough. 

They were then left to stand there as Kostas tried to think of what to say or do next. He got the sense that their date was over, but it’s not like that meant he should just turn and walk away. Besides, she was still here, waiting for something to happen.

Eventually, he slightly put out his arms and took a slight step towards her…only for Cammy to unexpectedly tense up.

He stopped immediately, having not expected such a reaction. Just as he was about to apologize, his date seemed to relax a little bit, looking more than a little embarrassed. “Oh,” she uttered. “I’m sorry, did you want to…”

“Just a hug,” he assured her right away, which only added to her embarrassment. 

“Ah.” Was she blushing? If she wasn’t, then she looked pretty close to it. “I probably should’ve mentioned this before, but as a practice, I’m generally wary of people. So, I can’t say I’m much of a hugger.”

Kostas couldn’t say he was all that surprised by this given her usual demeanor, but he also couldn’t say he wasn’t a little disappointed. “That’s okay,” he said. “Sorry for…”

“No, no, go right ahead.”

As if to prove she was serious, she stepped back towards him, but otherwise left the rest in his hands. After getting over his initial confusion, Kostas tentatively stepped closer and when she didn’t move away, gave her a simple one armed hug.

The whole thing was pretty awkward, but over the three or so seconds it went on for, he did feel Cammy try to reciprocate by putting an arm around his waist. Given their height difference, she also ended up putting her head against his chest, even if it was for a brief moment before they separated. Once they did, she almost seemed like a different person. At first, she didn’t even make eye contact, sheepishly smiling as she adjusted the straps of her purse for no apparent reason; when she did finally look at him, she seemed so much more timid than before, even as she tried her best to regain that composed demeanor of hers.

It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. 

Given that they were pretty close to her stop now, Kostas was about to ask if she would like for him to stay until her bus arrived, but before the words could come out, they noticed said bus approaching.

“I think that’s me,” said Cammy. Maybe it was just him, but she sounded just a little disappointed. Turning back to him, her smile became more assured, a sight that almost made him weak in the knees. Her beauty, the dim evening light, the clear affection in her gaze; it was all too much.  “It really was a wonderful time. Will I be seeing you?”

If he had any lingering worries about whether he’d turned her off or not, they were immediately dispersed. “If you’d like,” he replied.

Cammy’s answer didn’t come right away, but it was fairly conclusive. “I would.”

Her bus finally pulled up to where they were waiting and she hurried over to board before it took off, leaving Kostas to watch her go. “Get home safe! Text me when you make it back, okay?!”

“I will.” she assured him just before she boarded. “Good night, Kostas.”

“Good night!” 

Kostas continued to stand there and watch even after the doors closed behind her and the bus drove away, during which time he couldn’t help but reflect on the events of the last few hours. All the while, he was smiling like an idiot. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed someone’s company so much; he also couldn’t remember the last time he was so utterly captivated by someone. That lingering thrill he’d felt during their first few interactions wasn’t really present anymore; instead, he felt like he’d finally glimpsed her true self, even if it was just for a moment. And he just knew there was so, so much more to her than he initially thought. 

Yep, she would definitely be seeing more of him.

…

Cammy had a lot to think about during her commute home. Needless to say, Kostas’s future internship at SiRN and his family’s connection to it were chief among them. She never even considered that all this was even a possibility and she doubted that Juni had known anything about it when she set this whole thing up. It was all rather…disappointing. 

What she’d said to Kostas before they parted had been entirely truthful. She really had enjoyed her time with him, both before and after that unfortunate revelation. Cammy liked to think she was good at reading people, and what she saw was a generally honest, well-meaning young man with a strong work ethic, which made it all too easy for her to let her guard down around him. 

And then there was the hug. It really wasn’t anything that special, but for the brief time it lasted, Cammy had felt completely secure. She’d been hesitant, yes, but he’d shown her that he was willing to respect whatever boundaries she had and that in turn told her she could trust him. And why shouldn’t she trust him? He hadn’t done anything wrong…not yet, anyway.

When she finally made it home, she entered her flat to find Juni and Decapre watching something on the TV, with their house cat resting on the former’s lap. Juni had gotten hooked on Doctor Who recently and started going through its very lengthy backlog, and she wasn’t the type that liked watching things by herself. Let’s just say that Cammy was just a little relieved that she’d had a valid excuse not to participate that day.

“You’re back!” Juni beamed once she noticed her. “How’d it go?” 

“Good,” Cammy answered. As she did, she noticed a pair of empty plates on the small table in front of the couch, which in turn made her notice the distinct smell of curry.

“Are you hungry?” Decapre asked her, no doubt noticing the source of her distraction.

“Famished.” She hadn’t anything beyond a handful of pastries at the cafe and while they were by no means bad, they were no substitute for a proper supper. For her part, Decapre seemed to have foreseen this.

“We made sure to save some for you. Get changed and eat.”

“And come join us!” Juni added on.

“That as well,” Decapre concurred. “We have a few questions for you.”

“Yes, I’m sure you do.” Rolling her eyes, Cammy started making her way to her bedroom. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Upon closing the door, she used her newfound privacy to let out a deep sigh. To say she was conflicted was an understatement - frustrated would be a bit more appropriate. At first, she deliberated whether she should tell her sisters what she’d learned, but ultimately decided against it, at least for now. She would tell them once she herself managed to make sense of it all. 

Rather than changing, Cammy sat down on the side of her bed, setting her purse down beside her. And then she got to thinking again - thinking about what she should do next. As she did so, she ended up remembering she had yet to inform Kostas she’d made it home, prompting her to take out her phone and compose a quick message. 

However, she hesitated a bit before sending it. “ Why was she sending this?” , she asked herself. Out of politeness, out of obligation, or out of genuine affection? Or maybe because she saw an opportunity she couldn’t afford to miss? 

I’m home. Hope you are as well.

And that was that. Cammy still wasn’t sure what the answer to her question was, but she saw no use in dwelling on it. 

About half a minute later, she got a reply just as she was preparing to change, followed closely by another message.

Not yet, but soon. Glad you made it back safe!

Tonight was great. Hope to see you again soon.

Even with all her present misgivings, she couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t really been thinking when she asked if she would see him again, effectively asking him for a second date, but it wasn’t something she wanted to walk back on. She still could, perhaps even should, but she simply didn’t want to. The two of them had built a good rapport; it would be a shame for it to go to waste.

But try as she might to look at him objectively, that one crucial detail of his future hung over her like a specter. What was she going to do about it? What could she do about it? The answer was likely nothing, but she’d already made a crucial choice. 

This wouldn’t be the last time she and Kostas would see each-other, for better or worse.

...

Chapter Text

Several months later.

It was yet another day on the job, and a fairly busy one at that. The onset of winter brought with it a wave of customers looking for a pick-me-up from the chilly weather, which made it so Kostas hardly had a moment to himself throughout his entire shift. It was an exhausting process, sure, but at least to him, it was better than sitting around waiting to clock out. Not by a whole lot, admittedly, but he liked to focus on the silver lining.

If anything, it was probably a bad idea for him to even be there. He was well into exam season and with how busy things were getting, it was all but impossible to sneak any studying in. But that was part of the reason he was on the clock today, so he could do something other than studying, even if it was far from his first choice.

When he finally did find a moment’s peace, Kostas checked his phone for the off chance that one of his friends had sent him something and even better, if his girlfriend had sent him something. Cammy had gotten into the habit of sending him videos or photos she’d found online - mostly related to cats - something that he also did if he happened to find anything that “reminded him of her.” This time though, there was nothing, but he expected that to be the case.

From what she told him, she was also quite busy with work at the moment, which combined with his packed exam schedule made finding time to spend together pretty difficult. They both recognized this way in advance and agreed to wait until things winded down before they committed to anything, so they could focus on what they had to do. Cammy was nothing if not understanding and he appreciated her for that, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t mind the silence.

They’d continued dating throughout the fall and slowly, but surely, her walls started coming down. Her attempts at showing physical affection were still a bit awkward, but she was making attempts and to him, that’s all that really mattered. She was making a clear effort with him, so it was only fair that he let her take things at her own pace. 

Would he have liked things to go just a bit faster? Maybe, but hugs and kisses weren’t everything.

Amidst his mindless scrolling, he heard the cafe doors open, indicating the arrival of a new customer. And when he finally turned to look their way, he was pleased to find said customer was a familiar face. 

“Juni! It’s good to see you!” Kostas said as she approached the counter, beaming as she always was.

“Hello, hello!” Juni greeted back. “Just who I was hoping to see.”

“Oh, really now?” 

Juni laughed while taking out the exact cash amount she needed to pay for her usual, handing it over to him without needing to specify a single thing. Of course, Kostas knew it was a good deal less than what it would usually cost and that was something she could only get away with when he was on the job. 

“You know, my boss would be on my ass if she knew about this.” Despite pointing this out, he processed the payment exactly as it was. 

“I mean, you could stop at any time,” Juni pointed out in return. “It’s not like I asked for that discount.”

“You sure are taking full advantage of it, though.”

In response, Juni knowingly smirked, a gesture Kostas mirrored as he set to work on her latte. “Generosity is its own reward, don’t you know?” she said while leaning over the counter.

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” As sarcastic as his reply was, he fully understood that he wasn’t obligated to “reward” here in any way. But here he was rewarding her anyway. Maybe not out of the goodness of his heart, but he supposed it was better than nothing. 

“So, how’ve you been, anyway?” Kostas asked to change the subject somewhat. “Last I heard, you were being crunched at work.”

For a second, Juni looked a little confused, but eventually caught on to what he was talking about. “Oh, yeah, but that’s slowly winding down. The holidays are coming up soon, so there’s lots of last minute marking and organizing to do. So, same story as every other year, basically.”

“Counting the days till the break yet?”

 “I’m getting there,” she said with a sigh. “You?”

“Well, being one day closer to the holidays also means I’m one day closer to my physics exam, so…”

He heard the sound of Juni softly laughing amidst the hum of the coffee machines, stopping to look her way and smile before he resumed preparing her order. He noticed it was much easier to make her laugh than her sister, but then again, it really wasn’t fair to compare them. They were so drastically different that he would’ve never guessed they were siblings to begin with. 

“Shouldn’t you be studying for it, then?” Juni asked him.

“Probably,” he acknowledged. “But that’s a problem for tonight.” 

“Careful that it doesn’t become a problem for tomorrow, or the day after.”

“See, now you’re starting to sound like a teacher.” By now, he was starting to pour some steamed milk over her espresso, one of the last steps he had to take before he could serve her and send her on her way. But as much as he tried to avoid the subject, there was one question he couldn’t get off his mind. “How’s Cammy doing?”

Curious, Juni slightly tilted her head to the side. “Why are you asking me?”

He could tell she had a suspicion for exactly why that was, something that he attempted to clear up. “I mean, I was going to ask her later…am going to, I should say. But since you’re here…”

“She’s okay,” said Juni. “She’s working from home today. She would’ve liked to come with me, but she has an important call to make.”

“Mmm…” Kostas lightly nodded his head while he fidgeted with his spoon. “Good to know,” he said before silently returning to work. He knew it was irrational to think that she was avoiding him on purpose, but even so, knowing that she wanted to see him was…quite reassuring. 

“How are things between you two, by the way?” Juni inquired, once again drawing his attention away from his work.

“A bit slow right now, but that’s by design. We both have a lot on our plates.”

“I noticed,” she said with a silly little smile, one that stayed on her face for a good long while. “Should’ve figured you were both busy bees.”

“Gotta do what I gotta do,” was all he said on the matter. “But it’s all good. We’re supposed to meet up again after things wind down around Christmas - haven’t decided where, though.”

“Talk to her about it tonight,” she suggested. “She shouldn’t be too busy after six, and I know she’d be happy to hear from you.” 

It was an innocent enough suggestion, but considering who it was coming from, Kostas couldn’t help but be taken aback. “You’re awfully invested in all this,” he noted.

“And what’s wrong with that?” There was no hint of warning or even annoyance in her words. If anything, she sounded genuinely confused, which naturally spurred his own confusion. 

Deciding that he was probably just overthinking things, he continued. “Nothing, I guess. Anyways, I’ll do what you suggested. Just don’t give away the surprise, okay?”

After a brief drop, Juni’s warm smile returned. “Okay,” she agreed. “Sorry if I was being nosey.”

“Don’t be. I appreciate it.” Putting their exchange on pause, Kostas organized her latte and slice of cheesecake on a wooden tray before lifting it and carefully carrying it over to the counter. “There you are. Enjoy.”

“Why, thank you,” Juni politely said as she accepted it.

“Right back at you.”

After giving him an acknowledging smile and wink, Juni went off to find herself a seat. She’d stay there for some time, slowly drinking her coffee while reading a book she’d brought along, as she usually did. When he wasn’t dealing with something else, Kostas would come by to ask if she wanted a refill, something she always politely declined. Maybe saying she was taking full advantage of the discount hadn’t been quite accurate. 

Even as he tried to keep himself busy, Kostas couldn’t help but ponder his earlier chat with her. He understood her being invested in her sister’s well-being and happiness, but his? She didn’t owe him anything. Hell, until fairly recently, they could barely pass as friends. But he had to assume she saw something special in him - he had no idea what that was exactly, but at the same time, maybe that didn’t really matter. She was looking out for him now, too.

And then there was Cammy. He was already starting to think of places he could take her. Maybe they could go ice skating somewhere? Go to some sort of Christmas market? He honestly had no idea, but just the thought of seeing her again filled him with excitement. It was about the only thing getting him through this exam season. 

That thought process continued for well over an hour, during which time Juni continued to read in her little corner in the cafe. Typically, she’d pack up and leave about fifteen to twenty minutes past that initial hour, and today seemed no different in that regard. And as he got closer to that timeframe, a little idea popped into Kostas’s head.

When he got another moment to himself, he started preparing a cup of coffee for seemingly no-one in particular. In actuality, he was preparing Cammy’s favorite mocha, adding her preferred amount of cream and skimmed milk to the espresso. She wasn’t particularly fussy when it came to her orders, but like everyone, she had her preferences. 

Once he was finished, he carefully transferred the drink to a coffee cup, but not before writing down a short message on it with a permanent marker. All this was finished just a few minutes before Juni was ready to leave, something that he was thankfully able to catch.

“Juni!” he called out to her as she walked by the counter, just loudly enough to get her attention and no-one else’s. 

“Yes?” She seemed more than a little surprised, even more so when Kostas presented her with his surprise cup of coffee. 

“Can you do me a solid and get that over to Cammy, please?”

He didn’t think he needed to make his request any clearer, and judging from the warm smile that appeared on her face as she looked between him and the cup, he was right. “No problem,” she quickly agreed. “Only…”

“It’s on the house,” he assured her just before she could reach for her purse. “Just take it and get going.”

While Juni didn’t seem to like leaving him without payment, bless her heart, she eventually nodded her head and picked up the coffee cup. She ended up noticing what he’d put down and took a moment to read it over before he could stop her. “Aww…”

“Sorry for delaying you, Juni,” he said to hurry her along a little, before the heat rising to his cheeks became any more obvious. 

“Right, right, sorry,” she apologized, getting the message right away. “I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t get cold.”

That was probably something he should’ve considered beforehand, but at least his lack of foresight didn’t seem to bother her. A sincere “Thanks,” was all he ended up saying to her. 

“Any time,” said Juni. “Good luck with your studies, among…other things.” 

He noticed her looking down at the coffee cup in her hand as she said this, leading to him simply nodding his head in acknowledgement. Then, after giving him one last smile, Juni was on her way again, heading towards the door.

“Come back soon!” he called to her just before she opened the door.

“Definitely!” Juni called back. Finally, she stepped out of the cafe and disappeared around the corner, practically speed walking towards her bus stop. She must have been taking the task he gave her quite seriously - a bit too seriously, but he wasn’t going to complain. 

For the next little while, he continued to look in the direction she’d gone in, before he finally decided to get back to work. And the entire time, he kept on brainstorming ideas to propose to Cammy later that day, to the point that the ideas started bordering on daydreams. But what else was there for him to do? He missed her, and he was only starting to realize how much.

But he couldn’t see her yet. He still had a lot to do, both on and off the clock. He’d be counting the minutes as always, but at least for this evening, he now had something to look forward to beyond just more studying. 

…

“What news?”

“My contact in Interpol gave me some promising info. There’s a lot of money pouring into Nayshall, most of which is supposed to be going towards development projects and the like, but according to her, there’s a lot of excess cash that never made it to the developers.”

“Does she have any idea where it’s going? ”

“No, but I doubt it’s anything good. The NGO that’s heading most of these projects is deeply entrenched in Nayshall’s government, but it’s hard enough to tell where their money is coming from, let alone where it’s going.”

“Alright, let’s try it like this. Where do you think it’s going, Cammy? ”

“I have some theories, but I obviously still need to test them.”

“That’s not much of an answer. And for the record, I’m not asking as your Commander.”

With her phone pressed against her ear, Cammy sat in reflective silence. On the other line was Keith Wolfman, the leader of her Delta Red unit and the closest thing she’d ever had to a father. He wasn’t someone she could ever lie to, but that didn’t make it any easier to tell him what she was about to tell him. With a soft sigh, she leaned back in her chair and began her explanation.

“Nayshall has become a huge market for SiRN products in recent years. That NGO I mentioned, Terra Network Partners, has bought quite a few of their drones for ‘documentation purposes’.”

“The same SiRN that you say sprung from S.I.N.?” “The very same,” Cammy confirmed. “They aren’t an official sponsor of TNP and vice versa, but the connection is definitely there.”

“So they must be in cahoots is what you’re saying,” was Wolfman’s conclusion. “ There’s just one thing I don’t understand about all this. What do you think their end goal is? ”

Again, Cammy wasn’t exactly sure what to tell him, but she knew she had to tell him something. “Shadaloo was a lucrative career for a lot of people. Reviving it, or at least something similar to it, might just be in their best interests.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Wolfman said after a brief silence. “But you still don’t have proof for any of this, do you?”

This question left Cammy at something of a crossroads. There was still a key piece of information she’d yet to share with him, something that she very well should have shared with him. After all, it was a potential backdoor into SiRN’s operations and a potential key name in its hierarchy. She shouldn’t be hesitating…yet she was.

“None,” she answered. Thankfully, she knew her commander wasn’t standing in judgment. He believed her and just like her, was desperately hoping her gut feeling was wrong.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if anybody else can dig up some dirt on them. If you have to focus on something, then keep looking into the TNP and Nayshall. That seems like the most promising lead at the moment.”

“Yes, sir.” 

The call ended there, leaving Cammy to get back to work straight away. She hadn’t been out in the field today, spending most of her day sorting through various documents and corresponding with her contacts in other agencies, all of which was focused on a single topic - Nayshall. 

A small landlocked country in Central Asia, it was currently undergoing rapid economic and demographic growth, all of which could be traced back to a single organization. That alone was enough to arouse her suspicion. She wasn’t much of a cynic, but it was hard for her to believe that such a ludicrous amount of money was being poured into the country simply for the sake of charity. 

And that raised an important question. Why Nayshall, and why now?

For now, the answers eluded her, which made the busy work she was undertaking all the more frustrating. Months upon months of investigation and she’d found no promising leads on where the remnants of Shadaloo ended up or what they were up to. Well, except for one.

Before she could get too far into her work, the door to her flat opened, letting in an unpleasant cold draught. “Juni, you’re going to let all the heat out!” 

“Sorry, sorry!” She heard the door close shortly after, though the chill unfortunately remained. It wasn’t anything too serious, obviously, but it definitely didn’t do Cammy’s mood any favors.

“Did the call with the Colonel go okay? You look just a little grumpy.” 

“It went just as I expected,” Cammy said calmly. Grumpy though she may have been, she didn’t want to direct any of that negative energy at her. “Now I know exactly what I’m going to be doing for the foreseeable future.”

“That Nayshall business, right?” “Right on the mark,” she confirmed. “Which probably means I’ll need to head out of the country soon.”

“Hopefully not too soon, and not for too long.” 

Cammy smiled to herself and finally peeled herself away from her computer screen to properly look at her sister. “You could always ask them to send you out, too,” she suggested.

“I could, but to be honest, I think I’m good not doing field work for a while. It all feels a little too…familiar.”

“Mmm…” Cammy murmured in understanding. Even as an amnesiac with no memory of what she’d done in Shadaloo’s name, she recalled her superiors being surprised at how naturally she adapted to espionage. She shared their surprise at the time, but now that she understood the reason for it, missions did sometimes feel…eerie. In moments like that, she wondered whether she’d really changed all that much. 

“I try not to think about all that too much,” she said to Juni.

“It’s hard not to,” she said with a resigned sigh, her usual cheery smile faltering ever so briefly. It wasn’t an immediate cause for concern, but it showed that they still had a lot of work to do. 

Then, just as quickly, Juni’s expression lit back up. “Oh, right! I’ve got something for you here!” 

It was only then that Cammy noticed that she was carrying a cup of coffee, no doubt from Glass’. “I thought I said I didn’t want anything?” 

“I know,” Juni cheerily replied as she walked over to where she was seated. “I didn’t order it.”

“What do you…” “Don’t worry about it. Just look.”

Once she was close enough, Juni held out the cup so she could take it. By now, Cammy could distinctly make out the smell of a mocha, and could distinctly see a bit of writing along the side. Her curiosity piqued, she took the cup and gave it a quick read.

For Cammy W

Hang in there, babe. See u soon! ❤️

Kostas

Staring fondly at the name that signed off the message, Cammy managed a soft smile. Just like that, she managed to forget all about her rotten mood, even if it was only for a short while. To think such a simple gesture would be able to do that. 

Even after all this time, Kostas’ name inspired so many conflicting emotions…so many strange emotions. He was still young and exuberant, standing in stark contrast to her in just about every way. He should infuriate her, and sometimes he very much did…but right now, all she could think about was how much she missed him.

The last few months had been interesting, to say the least. The two of them met up as often as their loaded schedules would allow and maintained active contact outside of that - all that was fairly standard, of course, but it still took Cammy some time to really get used to it. At first, the idea of having someone be such a constant presence in her life seemed constraining; maybe even a little intimidating. And it probably would have been, if she only saw spending time together as an obligation.

She didn’t.  

Looking at things from Kostas’ perspective, he had a part-time job, a demanding degree and whatever else clawing away at his time, yet he chose to spend what little free time he had with her. He didn’t have to, but he did. The moment she realized that was the moment everything finally clicked into place. He wanted to spend time with her, and she wanted to spend time with him - it really was that simple.

As for why that was, well…this was why. Little things that showed that she was always on his mind, that he was conscious of the fact that she had other things going on in her life. That he saw her as a person. 

“I think he’s smitten with you.” 

Juni’s teasing finally broke her away from her thoughts, allowing an unfortunate reality to set back in. “Maybe,” was all she said in acknowledgement as she set the coffee cup down on her table. Yes, he may have been smitten, but not with her. Not really.

“How is he?” she decided to ask Juni, before her silence inevitably led to her asking questions. 

“Busy,” her sister said. “He actually asked me the exact same question about you.”

“Did he?” Cammy said without a hint of surprise. “I’m guessing you gave him the exact same answer?”

“More or less. I also thought it was kind of weird thay I have to relay that sort of info between you.”

It wasn’t difficult to pick up the subtext behind what she’d said, but it was difficult to address her suspicion without fuelling it further. Cammy probably could have tagged along to visit him or evwn just shoot him a message, but she’d done neither. Hardly a promising sign to an outside observer.

“We’re not on the outs. Kostas is wonderful, but…” As she tried to think of the best way to explain it without giving too much away, Cammy sighed and turned back to her computer. “I just needed some time to think.”

“About what?” Juni’s voice was soft and comforting as it ever was, but this time, it did little to quell Cammy’s unrest. If there was anyone she could trust with this, it was her, but where should she even begin. 

“Has he told you about his graduation plans, by any chance?”

Juni raised a confused brow. “No. Why?”

“He has an internship with SiRN starting in the spring. And from what he tells me, his cousin has a senior role in the company - he’s the one that got him through the door.”

She watched as the gears slowly turned in Juni’s head, connecting everything she’d just said with other things she’d confided to her in the past. “Oh…” she uttered when she made the connection. Then shortly after, her face contorted in worry, no doubt having connected it to her current predicament. “Oh no, Cammy…”

“It’s not like that,” she cut in. “I don’t suspect him of anything.”

“And what about his cousin?” 

While it was obvious Cammy was concerned with what she was doing, she wasn’t angry. Even so, it took a few moments before she finally relented and decided to share what she’d learned. “I did some digging into him. His records are a bit spotty, but he’s been working in finance for most of his life, including at the Bank of Cyprus. There were a bunch of leaked documents that showed that it and other banks in Cyprus have been plagued by money laundering for decades and while it wasn’t their biggest haven, there were a handful of shell companies in Cyprus that we know were operated by associates of Shadaloo.” 

“And let me guess. After Shadaloo was broken up, he changed career paths?”

“Seems that way,” she confirmed. “My guess is he was an inside man who facilitated their cash flow through Europe. With how much money they needed to maintain their army and tech, they would’ve needed countless people like that under their thumb.”

“So what does Kostas have to do with all this?”

No answer came. Putting her elbows against the table, Cammy rested her chin in her hands, mulling over all the information that she’d accumulated over the last several months, trying to make sense of it all. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Personally, I don’t think he knows what he’s getting into.”

To her surprise, Juni didn’t say anything. In fact, she remained so quiet that for a moment, Cammy almost forgot she was there, preoccupied as she was. That was until her sister entered her field of vision and sat down on a chair next to her.

“Cammy, I need you to be honest with yourself. Why are you still with him?”

She knew this question was coming. Truth be told, it was one she had asked herself more than once and it still confounded her to no end. She wanted to give Juni a single, simple reason, but there really wasn’t one. 

Well, maybe there was.

“I’m worried about him. I sincerely doubt his cousin has his best interests in mind. Whatever SiRN’s purpose is, I…” It was difficult to formulate her thoughts and even more difficult for her to keep it concise, but after a brief pause, she told Juni the truth. 

“I don’t want him to fall down that rabbit hole like we did.”

She was sure Juni already suspected that this was the case, but that didn’t seem to lessen the impact of what she said. Judging from the look on her face, she shared in her worry, but was also just a little disappointed. “I see,” she quietly said. “But how exactly are you going to keep that from happening?”

Yet another difficult question, and one that she’d been holding off confronting. “Any plan I might have requires him to take my word over his cousin’s and right now, I just don’t see that happening.” 

“Do you ever see that happening?” 

“Who can say?” Cammy replied when no proper answer came. A part of her wanted to say yes, but the rational part of her was aware of how difficult it would be for him to confront the truth. Not just about his family, but about her as well. How would he feel? Confused? Angry? Betrayed?

“So that’s it? You just maintain the status quo and see what happens?” 

That really was the only thing she could do, wasn’t it? It wasn’t much of a plan and as much as she hated to admit it, the truth of the matter was that Cammy had no idea what she should do in the long term. All of this was sprung on her so suddenly, the circumstances preventing her from taking any serious, immediate action. It was all so frustrating. 

“What would you do, Juni?” she asked after yet another long, contemplative silence. It wasn’t as if she was judging her decision - if it could even be called that - but if she had any alternate perspective on the situation, she would gladly welcome it.

“I don’t know, Cammy,” she admitted not long after, which came as no surprise. “But the way I see it, it all depends on whether you think what you two have is worth salvaging or not.”

That hardly inspired confidence in her chances, but it did give her something else to think about, for better or worse. She cared about Kostas - if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be so preoccupied with all this - but when it came to describing or even understanding the depths of those feelings, it was still far too soon to say. Was she attracted to him? In more than a few ways, yes. But did she see a real future with him? 

“I don’t think I can go on pretending to be someone I’m not,” she admitted to Juni. “But that’s the Cammy he’s come to know.”

“The one he’s smitten with, you mean?”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because it’s true,” said Juni. “You know it, I know it.”

Cammy offered no pushback, because just like her sister said, she knew it in her heart to be true. “I can’t say I’m too proud of that.”

“He’s going to need to find out the truth at some point,” Juni pointed out. “How likely he is to believe it, though…”

“Would you believe it?” “Absolutely not.”

For the first time that day, Cammy laughed. She hadn’t hesitated at all, and she didn’t blame her one bit. The truth was absurd, but that didn’t make it any less real. And Juni was right; one day, he would need to face it in its entirety.

“Guess I’ll need proof, then.” 

“Proof of what?” Juni asked.

“Proof that his cousin isn’t the man he thinks he is. And I guess that I’m not the woman he thinks I am.” 

“Maybe,” her sister agreed. “But I guess if I was him and it turns out that the people I cared about most weren’t who I thought they were, well…I don’t think I’d be sure of who I should believe. I know it’s a bit dramatic, but it’d be like the world as I knew it was falling apart around me.”

She saw the point she was making, but all it really did was add a tinge of guilt to the blend of emotions stirring within her. That was perhaps the worst case scenario in her eyes; it would be bad enough to learn the man he so admired had been lying to him his entire life, but her as well? How could he ever trust anyone again? 

“I’ll…” Cammy’s voice faltered ever so briefly, but she managed to catch herself. “I’ll figure something out.”

“I know you will,” said Juni. “I wish you didn’t have to, but…”

“I do, too,” she cut in before she could say anymore. “But it’s not like anyone could’ve predicted this.”  

The last thing she wanted was for Juni to feel responsible for her current predicament or to feel obligated to get herself involved more than she already had. And from the nod she gave her in response, it seemed her sister understood that. 

Standing up from her chair without another word, Juni left the room, leaving Cammy by herself…and with an undrunk cup of coffee. After simply looking at it for a couple of seconds, she finally decided to take a sip from it. By some miracle, it hadn’t gone cold, maintaining the exact type of smoothness and sweetness she looked for in a drink. Just the right amount of milk, just the right amount of cream; Kostas really had done his best to make sure he got it perfect. Just for her…

And yet Cammy couldn’t bring herself to drink anymore, at least not yet. Her mind was being pulled in way too many directions to properly enjoy it, especially when it itself was a reminder of what she had to do. 

When it became clear she was unlikely to get any more work done at that moment, her gaze was drawn to her cellphone. It was already past five, which was around when Kostas usually wrapped up his shifts. While she realized it was probably a bad idea, she picked up her phone and quickly composed a text for him, if only to put him at ease.

I got your little present. Thanks, I really needed the boost. 

Sorry I couldn’t be there to see you.

Rather than sitting around and waiting until he responded, she simply set her phone back down and forced herself back to work. Thankfully for her, her phone vibrated less than ten minutes, indicating he’d sent her something back. 

Don’t worry about it. I knew u were busy

Glad u liked it (and that Juni got it to u) 😉

Miss you

For the briefest moment, everything felt normal again. She was able to appreciate his thoughtfulness once again, as well as how prompt he was in his reply. At times, she wasn’t sure how often she should be reaching out to him and vice versa; whether drawn out silences meant that something was wrong or not. But by now, she felt like she understood his habits well enough that communication just felt natural or as natural as texting could be, anyway. 

I miss you, too.

Shortly after sending this, she wondered if it was really best to leave things there. After her discussion with Juni, she felt like she needed to have a talk with him - not necessarily to tell him what she needed to tell him, but more so to see if she could get a better handle on the situation. And if she couldn’t do that, well…at least she would hear from him again.

As she debated this, she noticed that Kostas was in the process of typing out another message. And so, she simply decided to wait and see what he had to say.

Say, do u think u can spare like half an hour this evening?  

Now that definitely caught her attention. Putting aside her uncertainties for a moment, she quickly typed out a reply.

I think so. Why?

The reason for asking arrived soon after.

Want to have a video call or something like that? I think we could both use a little break

Plus we can figure out what we’re going to do once we’re finally free

Ah, so that’s what this was about. He wanted to decide what they should do for their next date, whenever that ended up being. Truth be told, Cammy hadn’t had much time to think about that, but now that it was on her mind, it did seem like something they should work out sooner rather than later. 

After all, she needed to keep him close. 

I’d love that.

How about at 7:30? I still have a few things I need to sort through here.

Before she could even think of reconsidering, Kostas wrote back.

Sure! I’ll get the link ready and send it to you before then

Talk to u soon!

Reading over these last few messages, Cammy couldn’t help but envy Kostas a little. For him, things must have seemed too good to be true; not only was he months away from working for an industry giant, something that would open countless other doors for him in terms of jobs, but he’d also practically been handed a relationship with a woman he was, as Juni was so ready to point out, completely smitten with. What a blissful ignorance that must’ve been.

But it wouldn’t remain that way for long, no matter what ended up happening. And if she wanted him to see the light, she’d need to keep on playing the role he’d assigned for her. And hopefully, not get too lost in it.

...

Chapter Text

Kostas was supposed to be studying. That was what he’d been telling himself almost the entire day, maybe even the entire week. But as the clock ticked closer and closer to 7:30, it became harder and harder to keep that pretense up. 

He’d been in high spirits for most of that evening, ever since he’d sent that impromptu present Cammy’s way. Simply texting her and asking to talk probably would have worked just as well, but after not seeing her for a while, he figured that going the extra mile wouldn’t hurt. Making a perfect cup of coffee was impossible, but he’d done his best. 

As for their upcoming video call, well…he was excited. Maybe a little too excited, given how difficult it has been for him to focus since he and Cammy had set it up. He just couldn’t get her off his mind, but obviously, that had been the case way before today.

About five minutes before their agreed upon meeting time, he received yet another text from Cammy. 

Done. You?

Looking over the opened textbook and not even halfway finished question set on his bedroom desk, Kostas soon sent his reply.

Nope

But it can wait

Just to be safe, he waited until he received some form of acknowledgement before rushing to get the meeting set up. He expected her to insist that he focus on his studying, that they get in touch later in the week when his attention wasn’t so divided. What he got instead was pleasantly surprising.

If you say so. 

Now hurry up and call me. 

When Cammy wanted to be forward, she was very, very forward. So needless to say, Kostas practically shoved his notebook off to the side to get unrestricted access to his laptop, rushing to get the meeting application open. He couldn’t say this was his preferred means of getting in touch; he’d done a number of these video calls for office hours and the like, and something about them just felt so unnatural - like the person he was talking to wasn’t really there.

That said, it was better than nothing. At least he’d be able to see her face again.

A bit of tinkering later and all that was left for him to do was wait for Cammy to pick up. When she inevitably did, her video view appeared on his screen;  from what he could see, she was sitting on her living room sofa, bundled up in a simple white hoodie. He was also treated to the sight of her frowning at the camera; just as Kostas started to worry she might be angry with him for whatever reason, her expression softened considerably, showing the slightest hint of a smile.“Ah, there you are.”

“Here I am,” he said in return, unable to keep himself from grinning from ear to ear. She didn’t look to have any makeup on and looked absolutely exhausted, but that made little difference in Kostas’ eyes. Besides, he doubted he looked his best at the moment either. 

“Pulled through, I see?”

“Barely,” she replied, sighing in relief as she leaned back on the sofa. “I’ve basically been having these types of calls all day; with my client, with my supervisor, et cetera. And when I wasn’t doing that, I had a bunch of reports to file out. It’s a miracle I got it all done today.”

“Sounds like someone is misbehaving.”

“You’d think so, but he’s actually been doing everything right. But I have to keep track of all that as well, so…”

“Gotcha,” he said. “What did this guy do again?”

“He assaulted someone on the Tube,” she replied a bit too casually. “The crux of his appeal was that he was suffering from heroin withdrawal at the time, so a big part of the job now is making sure he stays clean. Thankfully, he seems committed to that so far.”

If there was one thing he could always count on when talking to Cammy, it was hearing a colorful workplace story. She dealt with all types of offenders in her day-to-day, some of them more cooperative than others. She sometimes even complained of harassment, if not outright threats of violence; when this rightfully worried him, she would always insist it was nothing she couldn’t handle. 

“I don’t know how you do it,” he said once it all settled in. 

“Because I know that continuing to punish people like him isn’t going to get them anywhere,” she replied. “If they can recognize what they’ve done is wrong and want to make an honest effort to turn things around…well, at least I think that says a lot more about them than the crime they committed.”

There was a great deal of conviction behind those words, and there was no doubt in his mind that Cammy sincerely believed them. She was a tough woman - she had to be to do the job she did - but as he got to know her, it became clear that she was a bit of a softie at heart. Personally, Kostas doubted he would be as forgiving of some of the people she worked with. Hell, even letting them out at all sounded like too big a risk. But Cammy didn’t see it as a risk; she saw it as an opportunity.

“I guess I never thought about it that way,” he acknowledged. “When someone does something like that - assaulting someone or whatever - it’s hard to dissociate them from it, you know?”

“Hmm…” Cammy softly murmured, which he interpreted as a form of agreement. “Yeah, I know.”

Truth be told, he expected something a bit more detailed than that, given how strongly she felt on the subject. Instead, Cammy simply left it at that and took a moment to stretch her arms over her head, letting out a quiet yawn as she did. She was dead tired, completely devoid of makeup and looked as plain as could be, and Kostas couldn’t take his eyes off her for a second.

And it was somehow only then he realized just how far out of his league she really was.

“Anyway, thanks again for your little pick-me-up. I doubt I would’ve gotten everything done without it,” Cammy said with a sincere smile. “Now would you like to tell me why in the bloody hell you’re working at a time like this?”

Kostas had to stifle a laugh before he tried his best to give her an answer. “I thought I could risk it.”

“Really? So you’re that confident you’ll do well on your exams?” 

“Either that or I’ve just accepted my fate.”  

“Kostas…” “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he insisted, seeing that she was starting to get a little concerned. “I’ve made some good progress the last few days; I just really didn’t want to be glued to my textbook the whole day again. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” 

“I’m sure you will be, but…” she stopped for a second, no doubt thinking over what she was about to say. “Well, okay, I guess I’m a little bit worried.”

“About what?”

“That you’re burning yourself out,” she revealed. “Rich coming from me, I know.”

While he wasn’t planning on saying so himself, that was exactly what went through his mind when she said this. That said, he could tell that her concern was genuine…and looking at her now, he couldn’t help but feel the exact same worry for her. “Well, then I guess we’re both hypocrites, aren’t we?”

This managed to get a pleasant little chuckle out of her. Even all these months later, making her laugh gave him a strange sense of accomplishment - making anyone laugh felt good, but with her, it felt distinctly special. He got the sense that there were very few people she could be this relaxed around.

“So I was right to worry, then?” Cammy said once she’d finished laughing. 

“I might be a little tired,” he partially admitted. “Not sure if complaining about it is going to do me much good, though.”

“Please, complain away,” she invited. “Misery’s in dire need of company tonight.”

“Did I ever tell you that you have a real way with words?”

“You might have.” As modest as she was being, he could see the edge of her mouth curve up in a slight smile. “Now do you have anything you want to get off your chest or not?”

She was being quite insistent, which admittedly came as a bit of a surprise. He figured that they’d mostly be talking about all the work they’ve been doing recently, but he hadn’t gone into this wanting to vent, and he doubted she did either. But thinking about it now, Kostas had a lot to vent about, and desperately wanted to do so. 

And so he did. He started with the fact that the group he’d been next to useless in helping him prepare a project that was worth a good 20% of their final grade while being more than happy to benefit from his own work, then moved on to an entitled older customer he had to deal with earlier that day, and so on and so forth. At first, he felt like he was being a little petty airing these grievances like this, but Cammy encouraged him to keep going, listening with keen interest (and amusement) the entire time. 

She knew he was frustrated and so she was giving him an outlet for that frustration. And truth be told, it felt really good. Usually, he’d just suck these sorts of things up and carry on - that was what was expected of him, regardless of how he felt. Really, this was the first time he felt like he could just let it all out without fear of judgement.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” he admitted with a sigh. “I know I’m getting closer and closer to the end, but…well, I don’t really know how to explain it. I guess I’m only getting closer because I’m being pushed along, you know?”

This in particular seemed to catch Cammy’s attention, leading to her posing him a straightforward, but difficult question. “Pushed by who?”

Again, Kostas was a bit hesitant to answer. It was a feeling he only started seriously acknowledging recently, but it was still a bit uncomfortable for him to admit. Thankfully, Cammy wasn’t pushing him to answer, but at that moment, he decided to come clean. If he couldn’t admit it to her, then who could he admit it to?

“My cousin.”

Her eyes narrowed in curiosity and she leaned slightly towards the screen; clearly, that caught her attention. “And why is that?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “He’s always been the one pushing me to do well. I doubt I even would’ve gone to college if it wasn’t for him. Maybe that’s it. If he wasn’t in the picture, would I actually be doing any of this?”

Understandably, Cammy seemed a little bit confused. “Do you mean he forced you to go to college? Or something else?”

“No, no, he hasn’t forced me to do anything. I was just…” Kostas paused then, unsure if he wanted to continue.

“What?” Cammy softly beckoned. “Kostas, what’s wrong?”

He wasn’t sure how long he must’ve stayed quiet before she asked this. To be honest, he almost forgot he was even talking to her, and she must’ve noticed that. Her eyes glistened with worry and when he finally regained his senses, that finally compelled him to keep going.

“Sorry, Cam,” he said. “I guess the main thing is that I never felt like I was up for it.”

This didn’t seem to quell her concern that much, but after a while, she seemingly decided not to press him on why he felt that way. That, he was grateful for. “I see,” she said. “Do you still feel that way?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “I definitely feel like I’m way over my head, but then again, I somehow made it this far, so…” Kostas wasn’t really sure what else he could add to have it make sense for her. It barely even made sense to him.

“Oh, I think I get it,” Cammy suddenly said. “You feel like your accomplishments are somehow unearned. Is that more or less it?”

Just like that, he was left to stare back at her without any idea of how to respond. More accurately, he was replaying what she’d just said in his head over and over again, leading to him coming to a rather unfortunate conclusion. “Yeah…” Kostas said almost without meaning to. “I never thought about it that way, but yeah.”

His grades, his upcoming internship; those were all his accomplishments, but it very rarely felt that way to him. It wasn’t some inherent drive that led him down this path; really, if he’d been left to his own devices, he wouldn’t be here at all. Michael was the one who whipped him into shape, gave him everything he could possibly need to succeed, from a place to stay to an internship straight out of school. 

None of it was for free, of course. Kostas still paid a bit of rent and his position with SiRN was very much conditional on his grades, but in spite of that, his cousin seemed determined to make something of him. He knew that before Kostas could do anything, he needed a good push.

“Again, sorry if that got a little heavy,” he said to Cammy when it became obvious she wasn’t sure how to respond to him. “What was it you said? ‘You’re not my counselor’?” 

It took her a moment, but she seemed to recall what he was talking about. “Something like that,” she said. “Then again, I had only just met you.”

“True,” he acknowledged. “Still, can’t say it’s a bad principle to follow.”

“Mmm…” he heard Cammy murmur as she softly smiled at her, which he interpreted as a form of acknowledgement, maybe even agreement. There were still some cards she was keeping close to her chest and he understood that; he wasn’t going to force her to reveal them. 

Yet in the silence that followed, he couldn’t help but note how conflicted she looked. It was hard to tell what she was thinking a lot of the time, but this felt different somehow. 

“You good?” Kostas asked her after some time, which seemed to break her out of her trance.

“Yes, yes…” she insisted. “I guess I just wanted to…” This was followed by another pause, until she finally found the proper words. “I wanted to say sorry for disappearing on you like I did. Sometimes, I get a little too wrapped up in what I’m doing.”

“It’s all good. The whole idea was that you’d get a chance to focus.”

“I know,” she acknowledged. “But I guess I’ve also had a bit of time to reflect, and I feel like I haven’t been…I suppose very fair to you.”

She sounded quite sincere in admitting this, but Kostas couldn’t help but be a little confused…and a little concerned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’d like us to…” Cammy drifted off mid-sentence, leaving him to wait until she could find the right words. If her continued silence was anything to go by, that proved to be a bit of a struggle for her. Just as he was about to inquire what was wrong, she finally decided on what to say. 

“I have a bit of a confession to make first. I’m completely new to all this…dating, I mean…so I’m basically learning as I go. I appreciate that you’ve been patient with me, but…well, I’m not really sure how to put it. I guess it’s just hard for me to express myself to you as a partner typically does.”

Some of this came as a surprise to him, and some of it, not as much. He already got the sense that Cammy wasn’t much of a people person; she carried herself well and gave him her full attention when they were together, but showing affection didn’t seem to be her strong suit. He hadn’t known why that was; maybe she had a bad experience in a past relationship and was being more cautious as a result, or maybe she was just the type that liked to take things slow. 

But unless he misunderstood her, it was because he was the first person she’d ever dated period. She just straight up didn’t know what to do.

“Oh,” was all he managed to get out at first. “Well, I definitely don’t want you to feel pressured. We can…”

“No, it’s not that at all,” Cammy interrupted. “I…really like you, Kostas. I thought that it’s about time I started being a bit more open about that.” 

She was uncharacteristically shy in admitting all this to him, slightly blushing and lowering her eyes every so often as she spoke. It made him think back to the end of their first date all those months ago - her confident demeanor had briefly faltered then, too, and it was just as adorable as it was then. But knowing what he knew now, it took on a little extra meaning. She wasn’t really used to being vulnerable like this, even in such a limited way. She might not have been very ashamed to admit this, but it must have been difficult to do so nonetheless. But the important thing was that she was trying. She wanted to try. 

“Say, I don’t think you’ve ever called me ‘Cam’ before.”

Kostas wasn’t sure how much time he’d spent in his own head, but this question sharply pulled him back to reality. “No. No, I don’t think I did,” he scrambled to say. “But it’s been on my mind for a little while now. I just wasn’t sure if you’d take to it.”

He couldn’t help but note that Cammy had folded her arms while waiting for him to answer. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be upset at him for zoning out like he did; if anything, it looked like she found his delayed reaction rather amusing. Smiling to herself, she likewise went quiet for a little while, tapping a finger on her arm as if thinking about something. 

“Cam…” she repeated to herself. “Why not just use my full name?”

He was just about to insist that he would do just that if she wanted him to before he realized that this was meant as a genuine question. “It’s a pet name,” he answered.

“A pet name?” 

“You know, like a nickname. Or a term of endearment or whatever. Couples use them all the time.”

It wasn’t the best explanation in the world and Cammy’s confused expression didn’t give him much confidence in it either. “Oh,” she said, which he hoped meant she genuinely understood it now. “Would you like one?”

At this point, Kostas was so puzzled by what was going on that he wasn’t sure how to reply. “I mean, if you can think of a good one, I wouldn’t mind.”

Cammy must have caught on to how awkward this whole exchange was getting, because her cheeks practically started flashing red. “Well, I’ll try and see if I can think of something then.” It was like she was growing more and more embarrassed with each word, but she tried her best not to show it. “I quite like ‘Cam’, by the way,” she added on. “It’s…cute.”

Being reminded that all this started with a slip-up on his part made Kostas share in his girlfriend’s embarrassment. “Oh, good,” he said. “Cam it is.”

The two of them were left to stare at each-other through their respective computer screens, unsure of how to continue their conversation. If nothing else, it gave Kostas a chance to collect his thoughts and really allow reality to settle in. Cammy seemed so much more…innocent now. If this preceding conversation was anything to go by, she really was learning as she went along. The fact she didn’t even know what a pet name is…well, it was damn near inconceivable.

“Listen, Cammy…Cam…I appreciate you saying all that,” he started to say, deciding it was finally time to acknowledge her many confessions. “And I just want you to know that I really like you, too.”

It wasn’t the exact wording he would’ve liked to use, but he decided it was better that he matched her sentiments for now; he didn’t want to overwhelm her too quickly. But the truth was that he was completely head over heels. He wasn’t really sure how it happened, but even though their relationship had been progressing at a slower pace than other ones he’d been in, he felt a much deeper connection to her than anyone else before her. 

With Cammy, he felt secure, he felt understood. The entire time that they were together, he never once felt like he had to act like someone he wasn’t in order to keep her around. Everything just felt natural.

“Kostas…” Cammy was clearly struggling to formulate a reply, but the fact she wasn’t recoiling in disgust was a good enough sign. “I really should’ve saved this for when we see each other face to face again,” she said with a sigh. 

“Maybe,” he agreed with a small laugh. “Can’t really plan everything though.” 

“I guess not. But in any case, I’m glad we’re on the same page, for lack of a better term.” She was still a little sheepish, but some of her usual coolness was coming through again. He had to admit that it was a little jarring seeing her second-guess herself, but that just went to show how new all this was to her. 

“Speaking of our next meeting,” he segued. “I’ve been thinking…”

Cammy waited for him to continue, only to be met with further. “Go on. Thinking of what?”

“Mostly just thinking,” he admitted. “Can’t seem to settle on what we should do.”

“You and me both. Though I admit I haven’t really been thinking about that as much as I should be. There’s enough for me to keep track of as is.”

Kostas had hoped this wasn’t the case, but that naturally meant he was aware that this had been a possibility. The reasonable thing to do would have been to put a pin in that topic and revisit it in a few days, but he wasn’t content to just leave things there.

“Why don’t we try it like this, then. Go ahead and think of something you’d like to do - could be the first thing that comes into your mind.”

As expected, Cammy was a bit surprised by this request. “Right now?”

“Yeah. But don’t tell me what it is.” 

“Why?”

“Just trust me, alright?” Kostas said, sporting a mischievous smile. He was sure that Cammy had taken notice of it, but even so, she chose not to acknowledge it.

“Okay,” she agreed, after which she got to thinking. Kostas had already settled on a date idea, so all that was left for him to do was wait for her to come to a decision. He was half tempted to give her a time limit, but that ended up being completely unnecessary, given that it only ended up taking her a few seconds to think of something. 

“I think I’ve got it,” said Cammy. “What now?”

“Now we decide whose idea we go with.” He was being vague on purpose, but she seemed to be catching on to what he was planning. At least, he assumed that was the reason she suddenly started laughing. 

“Really? You want to wager on this?”

Yep, she figured him out. “That’s the idea,” he said, deciding to stick with his guns. “Winner decides what we do on our next date. What do you say?”

For a while, she just sat there, smiling. “Do I have to stick with the very first idea I had?” Cammy asked, which seemed to indicate she was interested.

“No, but I think it would be more interesting if we did.”

“And what if it turns out we both had the same idea?”

“Don’t sweat the details, okay? I sure as hell didn’t.”

“Fine, fine,” she said, not so subtly rolling her eyes as she did. “But let me just ask you one more question. What happens if you don’t like my idea?”

He noticed her distinct choice of wording just before he was about to answer. That, combined with the smug look on her face, told him exactly what she was trying to do. “Consider it winner-takes-all,” he told her, deciding not to take the bait. “Now are you game or not?”

It only took Cammy a second to come to her decision. “You’re on.”

After this, it was just a matter of deciding what game they’d play. Kostas had been teaching her various card games the past several months and she’d proven herself to be a quick learner in almost all of them; at times, he worried she might be getting a little too absorbed in them, which is why he opted to always keep the stakes low.

The two of them eventually settled on Cribbage, which they conducted through an online extension that Kostas set up. Out of all the games he had shown her, this one quickly became her favorite, so it was no surprise it was the one she proposed. Given the context, it made sense; it was primarily a two-player game and had a fairly straightforward structure to it, just the right blend of luck and skill. Whoever got to 121 points first wins.

He ended up being the first dealer, and for the first few rounds, he enjoyed a comfortable lead of almost twenty points, but as time went on, the cards started going Cammy’s way. She started earning points from multiple runs in the same hand, letting her quickly catch up to and surpass his score; a few rounds later and she was practically running away with the game.

Kostas had played enough Cribbage to know that he had little to no control of the flow of the cards; the entire point of the game was to make the most of the hand you were given and know what combinations to put down to gain the most points. The problem was that every single card Cammy put down seemed carefully calculated. Almost every time he put something down that he thought would force her over the dreaded 31 sum total, she responded with something that brought her just below it or exactly on it, giving her all the points tied to those amounts. She naturally made a few slip-ups here and there, but they weren’t enough to help him catch back up. 

“You’re sweating,” Cammy casually pointed out at the end of their most recent nod, which had awarded her an additional six points and him three. 

“Must just be something with my video.”

“Sure, sure.” Needless to say, she sounded thoroughly unconvinced, and not without good reason. Right now, she was only seven points away from 121, while he was 12 points away; it wasn’t a completely unwinnable situation, but if she got just one good hand in the next few rounds, it was over. 

“Okay…” he nervously muttered. It was his turn to deal the cards this round, which he did with a click of his mouse. He and Cammy received six cards each, and looking his set over, Kostas quite liked his odds. A three, a five, two sixes, an ace and a queen, which contributed 10 to the counter. 

Taking a moment to weigh his odds, Kostas decided to place the five in the crib, after which he was ready to play his hand. “Ready?” he asked Cammy, who herself had placed two card in her own crib.

“Make your move,” she prompted. 

Given it was Kostas’ turn to put down the first card, it gave him a chance to set the pace for the rest of the round, one he couldn’t really afford to waste. Once he had taken a moment to consider his play, he laid down his first card. “Three,” he said.

A moment later, Cammy followed with a card of her own. “Five,” she said as she laid down a two. Kostas’s next play was obvious to him, and he might have been a bit too hasty in deciding on it.

“Fifteen for two,” he said as he laid down his queen. He’d closed the gap, if only by a little. However, this didn’t seem to phase Cammy in the slightest, who soon put down her next card in response. 

“25 and pair makes two.”

“Goddamnit! ” Of course she also had a queen. Why wouldn’t she? 

But even though she’d managed to widen the gap again, she had also put Kostas in a pretty good position. “31 for two,” he proclaimed after laying down one of his sixes. For once, Cammy was taken a bit by surprise, but her reaction was limited to a subtle purse of her lips. 

“My, we’re going down to the wire, aren't we?”

“Yep,” was all he said in acknowledgement, something she took notice of.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so focused.”

“Guess I’m just feeling competitive today.” 

“Fine by me. I don't mind a little competition,” she said with a sly smile. “Really, I’m quite enjoying myself.”

“I’m sure you are.” Even though it was obvious she was egging him on, Kostas couldn’t help but smile along with her. Because for all her bluster, she was very clearly having fun, and so was he. Truth be told, he didn’t remember the last time he enjoyed playing against someone this much…not that he was going to admit that just yet.

“Go on and deal. Let’s wrap this up.”

With the same fond expression on her face, she distributed six cards to each of them. Once again, Kostas looked over his cards: a two, a three, a seven, a nine, a jack and a king. Given that it was now Cammy’s turn to lay down the first card, he would have to pick which of them to play much more carefully. This round was make-or-break.

“Four,” Cammy said as she put down the accompanying card.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to play his seven. “Eleven.”

“Thirteen.” His opponent surprised him by putting down a two, seemingly without much thought. Fine by him.

“Fifteen two, and a pair makes four,” he proudly said after laying down his own two. Just four more points left, which put him just ahead of Cammy’s five.

“Ninteen,” Cammy calmly stated after playing a four. 

“Twenty-two, and a run of three.” Thanks to a very generous rule, putting down a three here counted as completing a chain from 2 to 4, for a total of three points. He was now just one point away from winning and he knew he must’ve looked pretty smug from Cammy’s perspective. 

But even now, her expression remained perfectly neutral. He had to admit, she had the best poker face he’d ever seen - it was hard enough to tell what she was thinking normally, but when they played together, she was damn near unreadable. Was she nervous? She had to be, given the corner he’d backed her into. Right?

“Twenty-seven, and a run of four.”

With a single move, she completely shattered his confidence. She’d played a five, continuing the chain and earning herself four points. They were now tied, and given the cards he currently had available, he had no other plays to make that didn’t take him over the 31 threshold. She’d played him like a fiddle.

“Go,” he eventually conceded, allowing Cammy to lay down another card.

“Thirty, and one for last.”

Just like that, she had accumulated exactly 121 points. The game was over.

“So?” Cammy teasingly prompted him after a few seconds of silence. She seemed quite proud of herself, and as much as it pained him to admit it, rightly so.

“Alright, fine. You win,” he conceded. “Good game.”

“Good game,” she said in kind. “Is it too late to make this a best two out of three?”

“I never said we were playing only one game.” Cammy’s eyes genuinely widened in surprise when he said this, which only made him laugh. “Just kidding, I’m not that petty. Now tell me, what do you want to do?”

Cammy blinked a few times, as if she’d completely forgotten the reason they’ve been playing in the first place. “Hmm, let’s see…” she said to herself, more to keep him in suspense than anything else.

“Have you ever been to the National Gallery?”

“The what?” “The art museum in Westminster,” she clarified. “I take it the answer is no?”

“Nope, never. Can’t say I’m big into the arts.”

“I think it wouldn’t hurt to go at least once. It’s one of those places in London I think is a must-see for anyone, even for a philistine like yourself.”

“You know I don’t know what that word means.” 

“I meant it affectionately,” she assured him. “What do you say?”

“I say I have to follow the rules. I set them, after all,” Kostas immediately replied. 

“Good answer,” Cammy said. “By the way, what were you planning on suggesting?”

“You mean if I’d won?”

“Yes.” At first, he thought she was simply asking this to rub it in a little more, but her tone didn’t seem to suggest that at all. 

“I guess I would’ve liked to go skating. Feels like the perfect time for it with Christmas coming up.”

“Well, what are the odds? There’s a skating rink open at Somerset House, just down the road from the gallery. We can go there after we’re finished going through it.”

This casual suggestion surprised Kostas more than it really should have. “Wait, wait, wait. The date’s entirely up to you, remember?”

“I know,” she casually responded. “I’m just amending my proposal a little. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Cam…” 

“Oh, quit being so humble,” she calmly interrupted him. “I’d like to do both, you’d like to do both, so we’re going to do both. End of story.”

The smile she gave him while saying all this was the sweetest one he’d ever seen from her. And the message from it was very clear - “ Just shut up and accept it. ” 

He didn’t know why all this was so surprising to him. If he’d won, he probably would've done the exact same thing she was doing now, simply because he wouldn’t want her to feel like he was leaving her in the dust. Did it cheapen the game they were playing? Maybe, but the rules he had set hadn’t been particularly detailed anyway. 

“Sounds like a plan,” he eventually said. “When do you think you’ll be free again?”

“I’ll make myself available,” she promised. “You just focus on your exams; let me know the instant you’ve finished your last one.”

“You got it.” Looking at the time, he saw that it was getting close to 9:00. He knew that he should probably get back to studying, but needless to say, he didn’t really want to. “Talk to you again tomorrow?”

“If it’s at the same time, sure,” she agreed almost immediately. “Now back to the books with you.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, unable to keep himself from laughing. “Good night, Cam.”

“Good night. And good luck!” 

Kostas was able to give her one more grateful smile before she logged off the call, leaving him to simply stare at his computer screen for a little while longer. Though the wise thing to do was to at least try and see if he could get a little more studying done, he knew that he didn’t have any more in him tonight. And even more so, that he was hungry. 

Finally stepping away from his computer, he made his way over to the kitchen in order to throw together a quick dinner. He was home alone, so he was free to cook as loudly or as quietly as he liked. But before he could even finish gathering his ingredients on the counter, the door to his apartment suddenly opened. 

“Late dinner, I see?” came a familiar voice. This was accompanied by a mouthwatering smell, which drew Kostas’ eyes to the entranceway.

He wasn’t shocked to find his older cousin, Michael, watching him from the entranceway, dressed in a grey three-piece suit. In his left hand, he was carrying a sizable take-out bag, which he held up for him to see with a notable grin. “Want to save yourself the effort?”

It didn’t take Kostas too long to recognize the logo on the bag, which belonged to a shawarma place both of them frequented. And it was exactly then that his building hunger hit him like a truck.

“Gladly."

...

Chapter Text

Once he finished putting his unused ingredients away, the two of them sat down to eat. Michael had bought a bunch of different wraps and while he couldn’t say they were at the ideal temperature, that didn’t stop Kostas from wolfing them down almost the moment they were unpackaged. His cousin was a bit more controlled in his eating, but it was obvious that he was just as hungry as Kostas was. 

“They still have you doing audit prep?” Kostas eventually asked.

“That’s all they’re having me do,” his cousin replied after taking a bite from a wrap. “We still have a couple of weeks to go before it’s done, so they want us to make sure our records are squeaky clean.”

“And are they?” “You forget who you’re talking to?” Michael jokingly said. 

“Sounds like a no to me,” he joked right back, which only made him laugh. 

“Everybody has their blind spots. Right now, I’m trying my best to make sure I’ve accounted for all of them.” 

Kostas couldn’t help but snicker at the pun, which judging from the half smirk that formed on his cousin’s face as he glanced over had been completely intentional. Accounting was his bread and butter, after all. 

Despite his jesting, Kostas had no doubt that Michael was on top of things. Back home, he’d worked for the largest bank in the country for close to a decade, which gave him a pretty good leg-up when he decided to transition to the corporate world. He’d made a good many connections through the Bank of Cyprus, bouncing from business to business until he eventually ended up here in the U.K., working as SiRN’s top accountant.

“Am I one of those blind spots?” Kostas eventually asked.

“You tell me,” his cousin said. “I think you’ve got what it takes, and we managed to convince my higher-ups that you do. Do you think you do?”

Being in the middle of chewing gave Kostas a convenient excuse to delay his answer. “Yeah, I do,” he answered upon swallowing. 

“Decisive, I like it. So how’s your studying going then?”

This time, there wasn’t much excuse for the pause that followed. “Well, um…I haven’t done very much of it today, as you’ve probably guessed.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I know you were working. And what about after that?”

“I tried for a few hours, but then I might’ve gotten a little bit distracted,” he answered truthfully. 

“By what?”

“I had a video call with my girlfriend. We were…making plans and whatever.”

The mention of Cammy immediately got Michael’s full attention, as it often did. “Ahhhh,” he hummed. “And how is this girlfriend of yours? It’s been a little while since you’ve seen her, right?” 

“Yeah, but it’s because we’re both busy. She was very insistent that I focus on getting my exams out of the way first.”

“She sounds like a good influence. I like her already,” Michael commented, which drew just a little bit of embarrassment from him. “When do I get to meet her?”

Now this was one question that Kostas definitely wasn’t prepared to answer, mainly because he hadn’t even thought about it until now. “Umm…” he started stammering. “I don’t know…I guess I’d have to ask her first and see what…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, his cousin started laughing. “Relax, I don’t actually care that much. You introduce us when you’re good and ready.”

“I think it’ll be sooner rather than later,” he said with a bit more confidence. “She asks a lot of questions about you, too.”

Once again, this seemed to catch his cousin’s attention, albeit in a different way. For whatever reason, his smile slightly faltered and he looked over at him, uncharacteristically nervous. “Really now?” 

“Yeah,” said Kostas, more than a little confused by his reaction. “Mostly because I have a lot to say about you. All good things, I promise.”

“I have no doubt.” His demeanor didn’t quite match his words, but he didn’t pay much mind to that. He supposed it did sound a little weird that a person he’d never met was asking questions about him, but said questions were fairly innocent, or at least, he thought so. 

“What did you say her name was again?”

It almost felt like Michael hadn’t even meant to ask that question - it was more like he just blurted out what was on his mind at that moment. In spite of that, Kostas quickly answered.

“Cammy. Why?”

His cousin’s reaction was as if he was hearing it for the very first time. “Cammy…” he repeated to himself, ignoring his follow up question completely. Before Kostas could get too worried, he recognized his little slip up. “Sorry, sorry, it just sounds oddly familiar to me. That’s all.”

“Well, no shit. It’s cause I already told you her name.”

Michael laughed at this, maybe more so to take the edge off than out of genuine amusement. “Yeah, I’m not really sure what came over me. Guess my brain’s more fried than I thought.”

“There anything else I need to remind you about?”

“If there is, I’ll let you know,” his cousin replied, and that seemed to be the end of it. To be honest, Kostas wasn’t quite sure what to make of that strange exchange. Michael unsurprisingly looked very tired, but at the same time, he wasn’t someone who forgot names easily, even when it came to people he had never met. 

“Anyway, what’re you and Cammy planning on…” All of a sudden, Michael’s phone started ringing, much to his displeasure. “Oh, for God’s sake…” he complained as he picked it up and took a look at the screen. His annoyance only seemed to grow once he saw who was calling him, something that Kostas obviously couldn’t see.

“Work stuff?”

“Most likely,” his cousin replied. “Sorry, Kostas, I have to take this.”

After giving him a simple nod of understanding, he left Michael to answer the call. “Hello?” As the person on the other hand greeted him back, his expression soured further. 

“Johan. Long time no talk.”

Kostas obviously couldn’t hear what this “Johan” was saying to him, but he didn’t look pleased at all. “If you’re calling about your pet project in Nayshall, then I’m not going to repeat myself. If you want more than what we agreed to, you’re better off talking to somebody else.”

As the caller started replying, Michael turned and started walking towards his bedroom. Kostas got the sense that things were about to get rather heated, and that his cousin probably wanted to have just a little privacy during the call. Sure enough, he closed the door on the way in, making it almost impossible for Kostas to hear what was being discussed, at least on his end.

But as much as he tried to simply focus on his food, he could hear faint traces of the exchange; as expected, things seemed to be escalating. It didn’t sound like his cousin was yelling, but he did raise his voice several times, though it obviously wasn’t loud enough for Kostas to pick up on what he was saying. Usually, he didn’t care about Michael’s business calls, especially with how many of them he made a day. But this one felt different somehow. The fact he had no idea who this “Johan” was and what their history together was only fueled his curiosity.

Against his better judgement, Kostas got up from his seat and carefully walked over to his cousin’s bedroom. He only got as close as he had to in order to make out what his cousin was saying and started listening in.

“Johan, the big boss’ problem was that he had no idea how the world works in this day and age. You do, so why bother dusting off his playbook now?”

Needless to say, Kostas had missed a good deal of context, which made trying to make sense of what his cousin had just said next to impossible.

“I just don’t see the point. You’re basically running an entire country. What more could you…”

There was a pause, no doubt because his caller had interrupted him. It went on for so long that Kostas started to wonder if one of them hung up on the other, only to be corrected just as he was about to return to his seat.

“That maniac? Are you…of course you’re sure. If there was even a chance he could make it happen, he’d take it. But how likely is it really?”

Another lengthy pause, no doubt accompanied by another lengthy explanation about…whatever it was they were talking about. As he waited for Michael to speak again, Kostas couldn’t help but notice something. He sounded scared.

“I had nothing to do with all that. I was always on the outskirts, same as you. If you ask me, the best thing for us to do is stay there.”

Of everything he’d overheard, this caught Kostas’ attention the most. On the outskirts of what? He got the sense that this Johan was an old work buddy of his, or at least something close to that, but from where?

“So, what, you want to fight fire with fire?! You of all people should know that nobody can…”

Yet again, it sounded like he was interrupted, but this time, he didn’t seem eager to let his caller dominate the conversation.”

“You don’t understand, there are no second chances with him! If this little scheme of yours fails, we’re dead men walking!”

Now he definitely sounded scared. It was no secret that he worked in a very stressful industry, not to mention a very cut throat industry, but Kostas had never seen his cousin this anxious about anything. It felt like success just came naturally with him, but then again, he really had no idea about how the sausage was made, so to speak. 

“What the hell do you know?!” Michael suddenly erupted, slightly startling him. “You have no family! Hell, you don’t even have a damn name! If you want to stick your neck out like this, be my guest, but I want nothing to do with it.”

Never has it been more frustrating only being able to hear one side of the conversation. Just what the hell was going on with him? Was he being warned? Threatened? Blackmailed? Or was he just being dramatic?

Whatever it was, Kostas couldn’t help but worry. Even more so, he couldn’t help but feel like he’s heard too much…but he couldn’t stop himself from listening further.

“Johan, for the last time, I’m not…” At first, it was hard to tell if Michael simply trailed off or if he’d been interrupted once again. What he said next was done so quietly that Kostas almost didn’t hear it. “What did you say?”

If he sounded scared before, now he sounded downright terrified. “You’re lying to me. It’s far too big of a coincidence,” he said some time later, regaining some sense of composure. Despite this, he sounded far from certain. 

“Even if all that is true, I don’t want your help. You leave me to my business, and I’ll leave you to yours, same as always. Now if you would be so kind, never. Call me. Again.” 

That seemed to mark the end of the call, judging from the long silence that followed. Even though he’d only overheard a small portion of the call, there was a lot for Kostas to digest. But before he could do that, he made his way back to his seat as quickly and quietly as he could; once he reached it, he took out his phone and started mindlessly scrolling to further throw off suspicion.

When his cousin finally emerged from his bedroom and rejoined him at the table, he looked somewhat frustrated, but otherwise appeared perfectly calm. “Sorry about that,” he said as he sat down. “An old friend had a bridge he wanted to sell me.”

“Was that all that was? You sounded pretty pissed.”

“Because he’s a goddamn parasite.” The disdain his cousin held for this ‘Johan’ was just as clear as it was when he was talking to him. Whatever their relationship was back in the day, it looked like Michael had burned that bridge long ago. 

“Fair enough…” said Kostas. “I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it?”

“No,” Michael promptly confirmed. As much as he tried to make himself appear calm and collected, his stress was starting to show. A few fresh sweat stains had appeared around his collar and he simply didn’t look like he was ‘present’ at the moment; no doubt, he was still thinking about the contents of that call, and from what little Kostas had heard, he couldn’t blame him.

“You haven’t eaten a whole lot,” his cousin pointed out, breaking the silence.

“Oh, yeah, I was a lot less hungry than I expected,” Kostas scrambled to explain, doing his best to cover his tracks. “But thanks for all this. I completely lost track of time.”

“I figured you’d appreciate it.” Despite his stress and fatigue. Michael managed to break a smile, which stayed there as he leaned back in his seat and picked up another wrap. “Anyway, more for me, I guess. Least I don’t have to worry about lunch tomorrow.” 

Kostas really wasn’t sure what he should say. All he could really do was sit there and awkwardly watch as his cousin continued his meal. He obviously wanted to ask him some deeper questions about who he just talked to and what they’d talked about, but given that he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, he wondered if it was better to spare him the additional headache. But in the end, Kostas’ curiosity got the better of him.

“So, this ‘friend’ of yours. Where do you know him from?”

Michael paused his chewing and shot him a rather annoyed look, as if trying to remind him of what he’d just said on the matter. A few seconds passed with no reply and Kostas was more or less ready to drop the subject, but eventually, his cousin sighed to himself in resignation. 

“Alright, fine. If it’s really tearing you up that much…” Michael said. “We used to be…well, not quite partners, but we did a lot of coordinating when I was still working in banking. If I have to say one nice thing about the guy, he was very, very good at his job; always knew exactly what to do with every last cent.” 

“Oh, so you basically had no choice but to tolerate him?”

“Something like that. For better or worse, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for him.” There wasn’t a hint of fondness or nostalgia in Michael’s tone. If anything, it was like it disgusted him to even admit it.

“What drove you apart then?” Kostas dared to ask.

“Like I said, he’s a parasite. The whole time I was working with him, I got the sense that he’d stab me in the back the moment he even thought it would get him ahead, so I didn’t give him the chance.”

“You stabbed him in the back first?” 

“No. I got the hell out. Me and a bunch of other people in our business circle. He didn’t like that very much, obviously, but…well, eventually, we settled on a policy of live and let live. We’re both better off that way.” 

Kostas couldn’t help but notice how his cousin was speaking in mostly general terms. What exactly was this “business circle” of theirs focused on? If he hated this Johan as much as he seemed to, how and why did they manage to come to such an amicable resolution? These were all questions he wanted to ask, but ultimately decided not to.  There was clearly a lot more to this business relationship and to its eventual fallout, but he hadn’t expected him to tell him absolutely everything. It was probably better that he didn’t.

There was however one question he simply couldn’t help but ask. “Is he…still bitter?”

“You don’t have to worry about him,” Michael assured him almost immediately. “Johan has always believed that grudges are bad for business, and that’s about the one thing we can still agree on.” 

Obviously, the fear in his voice during their phone call told a completely different story. Then again, it was hard to tell whether it was Johan he was scared of or something else entirely. “Well, if that’s the case…”

“It is. Just forget about him,” his cousin interjected. 

“But…” “I said forget about him! Whatever happens with him is my business and my business only. Got it?!”

“Alright, alright, I got it!” Kostas relented, more than a little shocked at his cousin’s outburst. But as forceful as he was trying to be, what he said didn’t inspire much confidence in Kostas. Clearly, he didn’t expect Johan to respect his “polite” request to leave him alone, which in turn meant that whatever he’d called him about was still far from settled.

Seeing his reaction, Michael’s expression gradually softened. “I’m sorry, this is all just…” he started to say, still a little rattled. “I’m sick to death of it all.”

“I figured,” Kostas joked, managing to at least get a small smile out of him. For the next little while, the two of them sat there in silence as Michael cooled down a little. By now, he knew that asking any more questions on the subject would be a bad idea.

“You’re going to have to deal with scumbags like that too, you know?” his cousin suddenly said. “Who knows. Maybe you already are.”

“I kinda doubt it,” Kostas replied. “But I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

“Make sure you do that. Business can be a real ugly thing. Really, the best thing you can do is keep your head down, get what’s yours and move on, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Scratch that, it never does.”

Kostas could tell that this was meant as a genuine warning, though it wasn’t really one he knew what to do with right now. “Always looking over my shoulder doesn’t sound very fun,” he said.

“It’s not, but sometimes it’s necessary. People aren’t always who they say they are, or who you think they are. If you’re going to take anything away from this, it should be that.”

Yet another warning, one that admittedly gave Kostas some pause. He wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, or at least, nothing he couldn’t have guessed for himself. Obviously, people lied, but some people were just better at it than others. In cases like that, could someone like him really tell when they were being dishonest?

“Sounds like a surefire way to become a paranoid wreck,” Kostas said. 

“I’m not telling you to always expect the worst, just to be prepared for it. You’re bound to be disappointed at some point, but it’s better to just be disappointed instead of heartbroken.” 

He was trying his best to drive his point home, and as much as Kostas didn’t like to admit it, it was working. And that was because he knew that Michael was right. Taking everyone he met at their word was a recipe for disaster, as was expecting them to always have his best interests at heart. Acknowledging that was simply being realistic, because just like he’d said, someone was bound to disappoint him in the end.

But one question persisted, one he didn’t dare voice. Why exactly was he telling him this now?

...

Chapter Text

Several weeks later

Even someone like Cammy needed a break every once in a while. With how demanding her job was, she appreciated places she could go and essentially turn her brain off for a few hours, letting herself focus on something other than her latest, usually high stakes assignment. Overtime, she found that places like museums and art galleries were especially good for that; they were typically quiet, easily accessible and something she could go through at her own leisurely place. That and it helped that she would invariably be learning something in her time there.

All these years later and the world still felt like such a mystery to her.

The thing is, she typically visited these places alone. This time, she had some company. 

“So, what exactly is going on here?” Kostas asked her as they stood before a vast painting in the National Gallery. In it, a muscular man had fallen asleep in the lap of a beautiful maiden; as he slumbered, someone was cutting his hair, with the maiden simply allowing the act to transpire.

“The bloke’s name is Samson,” Cammy said. “Long story short, he was this great hero who fell in love with that woman you see there, Delilah. He told her the secret behind his strength was his uncut hair and well…this was the result.”

He had to look at the painting a little while longer, but the meaning soon seemed to click with him. “Ah, I get it now,” he said. “But why his hair?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t write the Old Testament.”

“I mean, I didn’t read it either. Which verse says that if he loses his Godly locks or whatever, his muscles would just deflate?”

In spite of herself, Cammy smiled. Even more than that, she had to stifle a laugh; it was such a ridiculous question that it made her wonder if he actually understood the painting’s symbolism or if he just said he did to avoid looking like an idiot.

“I’m sure there’s one in there somewhere,” she said after a little while. “Probably with more sophisticated wording than that.”

“Naturally,” he said, after which the two of them simply stared at the painting for a little while. “You’d never give me an unwanted haircut, would you, Cam?”

Cammy couldn’t help but glance at him out of the corner of her eye. He was clearly asking her this in jest, but to her, it ended up being a lot more…profound than he intended it to be. 

Looking back towards the painting, she posed him a similarly unserious question. “Would that take away your power?”

“No,” he replied. “But it would make me very, very upset.”

This time, Cammy couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I can’t stomach that,” she said. 

“Then I guess that means I can rest easy tonight.” 

“Mm-hmm…” 

If nothing else, she could now be certain he’d grasped the painting’s meaning, not that she should’ve doubted such a thing in the first place. From the moment she met him, she got the sense that Kostas was quite smart - smarter than probably even he knew. But this relatively harmless exchange exposed another aspect to him that she hadn’t really given much mind to until recently.

Looking back towards him, she couldn’t help but think back to something he’d confided to her during their video call a few weeks back - how he felt like he hadn’t earned his accomplishments. He’d shifted subjects before she could get a better handle on his feelings, but everything pointed to a much deeper problem.

He didn’t think very highly of himself. His constant downplaying of his achievements could be mistaken for humbleness, but she knew the truth now. He felt like he didn’t deserve any of it. 

Why? That was what Cammy was trying so hard to figure out. 

“Come on,” she finally said to get his attention. “There’s still a lot more to get through.”

For the last hour or so, the two of them have been going through the gallery at a fairly subdued rate, taking the time to properly admire each work on display. At least, that was the idea. Kostas obviously wasn’t a connoisseur of the arts - and to be fair to him, neither was she - so simply looking at paintings wasn’t going to do much for him. So, to keep him engaged, she tried getting him to engage with the pieces, so to speak. Tell her what he saw in them.

The results were…interesting. There naturally weren’t any profound insights or deep philosophical discussions, but she found herself carefully listening to what he had to say regardless. It was a good way of seeing into his head, if just a little. Plus, it fit with her cover story - after all, it was her job to understand how people think.

It wasn’t her first time playing tour guide either. When they were first freed, Cammy had taken Juni and Decapre to some of her favorite museums in London, if only to give them something to take their minds off the stress and uncertainty they felt. Seeing their looks of awe upon seeing a completed dinosaur skeleton or a masterfully crafted sculpture was a truly special sight. She’d reacted much the same way back in the day, with almost childlike wonder.

She told him that story somewhere along the way, albeit with many key details excluded. Cammy knew that it was the right thing to do, but it left her feeling so…slimy. She’d lost track of the number of half-truths she’d told him in their time together, which is to say nothing about the number of outright lies. It was all necessary, she knew that. But this wasn’t a mission, and he wasn’t a target, or at least, he wasn’t supposed to be. 

To make matters worse, Cammy was genuinely enjoying herself. Looking at how he was acting, you wouldn’t think that Kostas was only here because he lost a bet (something she couldn’t help but tease him about). He was in no hurry to go anywhere, staying by each painting they passed until neither of them had anything else to say about it. It was obvious that he was humoring her and really couldn’t care less about what they saw, but the effort was certainly appreciated. 

Never has the line between business and pleasure been so blurred. 

At some point, the two of them took a seat on a bench facing a collection of portraits. Food and drinks weren’t permitted in the gallery, so all they could really do was sit and observe, quietly. Cammy welcomed the silence, taking the time to sort through her increasingly disjointed thoughts. 

“Have you ever thought about getting your portrait done?” 

Needless to say, Kostas was visibly confused by her question. “Not really,” he answered. “Do people even do that nowadays?”

“Important people do,” said Cammy. “Prime ministers and the like.”

“Well, guess that rules me out, then.”

There it was again. Just a few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have thought anything of this sort of self-deprecating humor, but knowing what she knew now, she couldn’t help but think he wasn’t doing it because he wanted to be modest about himself. 

“A portrait isn’t just a status symbol,” she said to continue the conversation. “A good one can tell you a lot about a person, or at least, how others might perceive them. Could be good, could be bad; depends on how petty the artist is, really.” 

“And what if they’re very hard to read?” 

Cammy noted that he turned to look at her as he posed this question; naturally, she couldn’t help but consider her reply much more carefully than she normally would have. “No one’s exactly as they appear to be. You’re allowed a little creative liberty here and there.”

“Hmm…” Kostas looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he simply looked back towards the paintings. Cammy would have done the same, and probably should have done the same, yet she wasn’t content to let their conversation end there.

“Do you worry about how others perceive you?” 

As expected, this drew his attention back. “Well…” he started to say before trailing off for a moment.. “I mean, who doesn’t?”

“Touche,” she conceded. “But some people care more about that sort of thing than others.” 

For a few precious seconds, Kostas simply sat there and stared at her, saying nothing that could confirm or deny her suspicions. She got the sense that he knew where she was going with this and simply wasn’t comfortable going down that road, but she opted to wait and see what he had to say. 

At the same time, his eyes seemed a lot more…analytical than they usually did. He had his own questions about her, she could tell. He was just scared to ask them. 

“I didn’t expect this trip to get so deep,” he finally said. And she figured that was that.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Cammy said. “My inner art snob’s coming out.”

“Don’t be. It suits you.” “Oh, you think I’m a snob, do you?”

With a small laugh, he leaned in just a little closer and said, “No, Cam, I think you’re very, very smart.”  

It was a genuine compliment dressed up in a bit of teasing. There wasn’t anything that special about it, but for the first time that day, Cammy found herself feeling just a little flustered. She never was the best when it came to receiving compliments, and him using the pet name he’d picked out for her didn’t help matters either. It made it feel so much more personal.

There really wasn’t anything she could think to say at that moment, not for lack of trying. Maybe she should’ve offered him a compliment back, if she could think of one that sounded even remotely natural. It really shouldn’t have been so difficult, but as she had admitted to him not too long ago, she was still a stranger to this type of concentrated affection. 

“How…nice of you to notice,” she said lamely. Much to her surprise, he didn’t have anything witty to say back. He just kept looking at her, smiling. “What?”

“You’re adorable.”

If she wasn’t flustered before, she definitely was now. “Oh, stop it,” she exclaimed, giving him a gentle shove almost without meaning to. The thing was, this only seemed to amuse him more.

“I mean it!” 

“I know you do,” she said. “That’s the problem.”

“Is it a problem?” His words still had that silly undertone to them, but she could tell he also meant it as a somewhat serious question. 

“No, not really,” she assured him. “I can get used to it.”

In response to this, he just shook his head. “You know, sometimes it feels like I’m meeting you for the very first time.” 

Cammy raised a curious brow. “Meaning?”

“I don’t know. It just feels like there’s a lot of different angles to you. I’m still finding new ones.”

Unsure of how to respond to this, or even whether she should take it as a compliment or not, she simply sat there and stared back at him. She supposed he meant that he was still learning new things about her, but her mind couldn’t help but turn to more ominous possibilities. But surely she was just being paranoid. There was no way he was onto her. 

“I can promise you I’m not that complicated,” said Cammy.

“I never said you were,” Kostas replied.

“Then what are you saying?” “I already told you; I don’t know. But I like it.”

Either he was giving her the world’s most roundabout compliment or she genuinely did just baffle him at every level. Cammy wasn’t really sure which one she preferred, but it did get her thinking. At this point, she felt like she understood Kostas fairly well, but also, not really at all.  She knew where he was headed, but as for what exactly brought him here? What drove him forward? That, she very much did not know, and perhaps she didn’t need to know. But she wanted to.

“Can I ask you something?” 

She decided to be a bit more straightforward instead of relying on speaking in riddles, something that seemed to surprise Kostas. “Sure,” he said. 

Cammy was still trying to figure out how she should pose the question to him or whether she even should. She was this close to walking it back, but ultimately, she decided to take the risk. “Your family. I know you have your cousin and your uncle back home, but…” Again, she hesitated, somewhat spurred by seeing how quickly his expression soured when the subject was raised. But that told her there was indeed more to that story.

“I guess I’m wondering if there’s anyone else.”

By now, it was clear she’d raised a touchy subject. Kostas remained dreadfully quiet and as the seconds ticked by, Cammy couldn’t help but feel like she’d overstepped her bounds. Just as she was about to retract the question and apologize, he gave her a brief, but loaded answer. “Not anymore.”

His smile was all but gone now, and Cammy started to think that perhaps she shouldn’t have pried. But even so she couldn’t keep herself from posing a simple, but very personal question.

“What happened?”

She said it quietly, to the point she wasn’t even sure it had graduated from a thought in her head. But Kostas heard her and after another preparatory silence, he decided to provide some semblance of an answer.

“So you know how I live with my cousin, right?” In response, Cammy gave a tentative nod. “Yeah, it wasn’t always that way.”

A subtle sense of dread creeped up on her. The fact that his family was the first thing he mentioned in such a discussion was hardly a promising sign. Nonetheless, she let him continue.

“Before all that, I lived with my mom. Never knew my dad, which is probably why she always gave off the vibe that she wanted nothing to do with me. It didn’t matter what I did; didn’t matter what sports team I made or what grades I got, she just didn’t care. Nothing was ever good enough for her. And that was all if she was in a good mood.”

There were no doubt many more unsavory details he was leaving out, no doubt because they were simply too painful for him to share. And Cammy didn’t force him to. He’d told her more than enough to let her paint the full picture for herself, and it wasn’t pretty.

“I’m…” “I know you are,” Kostas interrupted her before the words could even leave her lips. “You don’t have to say it. You’re not her.” 

There was a distinct lack of emotion in his voice upon saying that final word. She expected venom, hatred; definitely not what could only be described as a subdued acceptance. Yet despite never having met this woman and hearing only the bare minimum about her, Cammy felt nothing but contempt for her.

When it became clear he wasn’t going to say anything more - couldn’t say anything more - Cammy put her hand on his. “You got away though, didn’t you?”

This time, he seemed more surprised by the sudden contact than anything else. Once he got over that, he provided a fairly forthright answer. “My uncle was never the biggest fan of hers,” he said. “But he tried to keep himself from getting involved directly. When he finally did get involved, it was because Michael talked him into it.”

“Michael?” She had expected him to be involved, but somehow not in the way he described.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He was always telling me that I deserved better, but I always wrote him off. When it came down to it, he basically had to drag me away from mom. But after he did, well…I never looked back.” 

“Good,” Cammy said without hesitation. “What your mother thinks of you doesn’t matter. It never did, because you clearly never mattered to her. There’s absolutely nothing you need to prove to her.”

Even now, he remained silent. But as he stared back at her, she could see the gratitude in his eyes. Deep down, he must have known what she said was true and had known it for a long time; he just couldn’t accept it. A mother’s scorn was perhaps the worst thing a child could ever experience - even she, with no mother of her own, could understand that. And as she saw now, it was something he had never fully recovered from. 

“Cammy…” he started to say. He looked like he was on the verge of tears, but he by some miracle managed to hold himself together. “Sorry, I really shouldn’t have…”

“No,” she firmly said, squeezing his hand just that little bit tighter. “Listen to me. Only you get to decide your worth. It’s your life to live.”

That was what she knew he needed to hear, something that she herself had to learn once upon a time. She wanted to tell him that she understood how he felt - all the doubt and confusion about what his place in the world was - but this wasn’t about her. It was about him. 

As silence settled over them once again, Cammy took a little time to process what he’d told her. Whichever way she looked at it, Michael objectively changed his life for the better, giving him a chance to realize his true potential. But even so, she kept coming back to the same question. “ To what end? ”

Obviously, she had yet to meet the man, but that didn’t stop her from forming an image of Michael - needless to say, it was not a very flattering one. Would she say this new information challenged that preconceived notion? Perhaps, perhaps not. Something just didn’t feel right.

And then it hit her. What Kostas had confided to her during their video call suddenly made sense, about how his cousin had basically inspired his every action. He was desperate for Michael’s approval, and he surely knew it.

Looking at Kostas now, Cammy felt her resolve deepen. He didn’t deserve the lot he’d been saddled with, being left feeling worthless every step of the way. Like she’d told him, there was nothing for him to prove; not just to his mother, but to anyone, including himself. If she could just get him to see that…

Cammy decided then and there that she would, no matter what. 

“What do you say we move on to phase two?”

Kostas’ eyes narrowed in surprise. “We haven’t gone through everything already, have we?”

“We don’t have to,” she said with a shrug. “Besides, we’ve been here for well over two hours. I could use some air.”

“But what about the…?” “Forget about the bloody bet,” she interrupted, knowing full well what he was going to say. “Now come on, let’s get down to the rink before it gets too busy. Alright?”

She kept her voice gentle, keeping his hand clasped in hers. It finally occurred to her how long she’d been holding it and a part of her felt compelled to pull it away, but she didn’t. She’d said she wanted to be more “open” with him and so she would be. More than anything else, he wanted to matter to someone. And he mattered to her. 

For the first time in what felt like hours, Kostas smiled back at her. “Alright.”

They didn’t leave right away, stopping a few times to check out a few paintings they had missed in their tour before stepping out of the gallery into the chilly December air. It was around 4:15 PM on a Thursday, when most people were still waiting to get off work, making the usually crowded London streets just that little bit more navigable. More importantly for them, that meant the National Gallery hadn’t been that busy, and with any luck, Somerset House wouldn’t be either. 

The skating rink was within walking distance of the gallery, so the two of them headed straight there. There ended up being a short line for rental skates when they did arrive, so when they finally did get their hands on them, the sun was already going down. The temperature naturally went down with it, but Cammy had been sure to bundle up for that very reason. 

“So, do you, like, know how to skate?” Kostas asked when they were both well into the process of putting their skates on.

“Not really,” she admitted while tightening up her laces. “Hell of a time to ask, I must say.”

“I just assumed you did, with how much you were insisting on it,” he said with a shrug. The two of them continued to tie their skates in silence for a few more seconds, with Cammy just about finishing with her left skate before Kostas suddenly posed her a different question. “Need some help?”

She was reaching for her second set of laces when she heard him speak, causing her to stop just before she could touch them. It didn’t take her very long to figure out what he was really asking. “I know how to tie my shoes, Kostas.”

“I’m sure.” There was that cheeky smile again, something that grew ever so slightly more endearing every time she saw it. Maybe she was already too tired to argue, maybe he was just exceptionally good at wearing her down, but whatever the case may be, he didn’t need to say anything more to convince her.

“Alright, fine,” she said with a sigh. 

Without so much as a nod, Kostas got up from the bench they were sharing, knelt down in front of her and started doing up the laces on her right skate. As for Cammy, she awkwardly placed her hands on her lap and watched him work. “Let me know if it’s too tight,” Kostas told her.

“I will.” She should’ve hated being coddled like this, but there was something oddly endearing about what she was witnessing. He really was going the extra mile to ensure she didn’t end up hurting herself; that was all well and good, but after everything she’d been through, it just felt so comical.

“You sure you don’t need a helmet?”

“I’ll manage,” she assured him yet again. “Besides, you’ll be there to catch me if I fall, won’t you?”

He paused what he was doing for a second in order to look up at her, smirking before getting back to work. “Let’s hope I won’t have to,” she heard him say.

“Oh, don’t tell me I’m gonna have to catch you, too,” she continued to tease him.

“I promise that you won’t,” he said with a small laugh. “Otherwise all those years of playing hockey will officially have been for nothing.”

“Did you play well?” “I like to think so. Then again, I don’t anymore, so…”

“You might be rusty?” Cammy finished for him.

“Guess we’ll see.” Soon after this, he finished doing up the final knot on her skates. “That good?” he asked her.

Cammy shifted her foot around a little to test out the tightness; she wouldn't really know if it was ideal until she was on the ice, but for now, it was enough. “Good.”

“Perfect.” 

Standing up, Kostas offered her a hand, his earlier smirk being replaced with a genuine smile. After a few seconds, Cammy accepted his helping hand up; she soon found herself grateful for his support, as actually standing on her skates proved a bit more difficult than she expected. If he noticed her minor stumble, he didn’t say anything and started leading her towards the ice. 

When they finally did step out onto the ice, Cammy’s struggle increased two-fold. If it weren’t for the fact she was still holding onto Kostas, she probably would’ve glided right along the ice, unsure of how to stop herself. This time, he very much did notice her lack of balance, mostly because of her instinctively tightening her hold on his hand. 

“You good?” For all his earlier teasing, she could see his concern starting to build up.

“Yes, yes, of course,” she insisted, making sure to loosen her hold on him. “You can let go now.”

With a bit of reluctance, Kostas pulled his hand away, leaving her to fend for herself. For the first little while, neither of them moved from their spot, no doubt waiting to see if the other would start moving first. A few other skaters maneuvered around them, but it wasn’t busy enough that the two of them caused any substantial traffic.

“Go on,” Kostas prompted. “It basically works exactly like you think it does.”

“Not much of an instructor,” she said under her breath, and judging from the way he laughed, he heard her loud and clear.

“Sorry, but I don’t know how else to explain it.” Suddenly, he started moving, skating around in a small circle before returning to her side. “If you know how to walk, then you can learn to skate,” he said in the midst of his little demonstration. “And how did you learn to walk?”

It was far from the most original or inspiring metaphor in the world, but Cammy decided to go along with it. “By doing,” she answered, but not without rolling her eyes first.

“Exactly,” he said, paying no mind to her unimpressed tone. “So let’s go. I’ll be right behind you.”

It took a while before she did much of anything. It’s not like she was scared; she’d been in much, much more perilous situations than this and hadn’t even blinked. But of course, he didn’t know that. For all he knew, this was the biggest risk she’d taken in months, maybe even years. And bless his soul, he was genuinely concerned for her - she could see it in his eyes. 

And she couldn’t bring herself to tell him not to worry. If he wanted to be a gentleman, she’d let him.

Finally, Cammy tried to move. Taking what she’d observed from him, and some of their fellow skaters, she tried moving in alternating strokes, one foot in front of the other. 

“Lean forward a bit,” she heard Kostas say just behind her. Sure enough, he was keeping pace with her, not that that was a very impressive feat. Her movement was unsurprisingly sloppy, but not to the point she felt she was in danger of falling. 

Even so, Cammy took his advice, leaning forward ever so slightly in order to steady herself. The added balance helped her settle into a much better rhythm, allowing her to glide across the ice more and more seamlessly. 

“That’s it!” She could hear the pride in Kostas’ voice, but she resisted the urge to look back in his direction. Not out of any concern she might accidentally ram into another skater, but because there was absolutely no way to hide how much she was blushing. 

Cammy felt ridiculous. The whole situation she found herself in was just ridiculous, and all she could think about now was how it had ever come about. It’s not like she had any shortage of excuses. She needed to stay close to Kostas, which by extension got her just that little bit closer to his scumbag of a cousin. That’s what this was all about, right? 

If only it was that simple. In the days leading up to today, and every waking minute during it, she had to contend with a somewhat startling realization. She wanted to be here. 

Suddenly, Cammy fell. Maybe she genuinely lost her footing, maybe she purposefully tripped herself up for the sake of appearances; it honestly didn’t matter. It wasn’t a complete wipe out, but she did feel a slight tinge of pain as she landed on her side, sliding across the ice before coming to an awkward stop. Before she could even prop herself up on her elbows, Kostas was at her side.

“Cammy!” he exclaimed. 

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m fine. Just got a little distracted.”

“By what?” “Don’t worry about it.”

She could tell he was worried, and so she smiled up at him to help dispel a bit of that worry. She wasn’t sure if it worked, but he didn’t pester her with any more questions about her well being and instead returned her smile before offering her another helping hand up, which Cammy gratefully accepted. Due to her lack of experience, standing up on the ice proved somewhat tricky and for a moment it looked like she would fall right back down. But Kostas was able to hold her steady and soon enough, she was back on her feet.

And when she was, Cammy found herself exceptionally close to him, their bodies practically pressed against each-other. Looking up, she met his eyes, and almost immediately, she was struck by quite a few things. 

The first was how much taller he was than her. Usually, such a thing would only register in her mind if she was going up against an opponent that dwarfed her in size - just another factor she had to weigh during the mission at hand. But in the moment, she found it oddly comforting. It made her feel secure, an odd thing to feel considering she was the last person in the world who needed defending, but she felt it nonetheless. It was…pleasant.

And then there was what she saw in his eyes as he looked at her. There was of course the concern she noted before, but there was something else there - a distinct warmth. She couldn’t describe exactly what it was, but she found that she couldn’t look away. That remained true even as Kostas slowly leaned in closer; even amidst her confusion, Cammy recognized what was happening. 

And so, she let it happen.

Gently, Kostas kissed her. Her mind was abuzz with activity, urging her to do something, anything , but it was like her body had gone completely slack. Instinct eventually took over, and she tentatively kissed him back, or at least, she tried to. It wasn’t that long before they broke apart, no more than ten seconds, but after Cammy finally opened her eyes and found him looking down at her with that affectionate glint, it felt like hours passed before the weight of everything crashed down on her all at once.

“ Damn! Damn, damn!”

Cammy lowered her head, finding it difficult to continue looking at him. Despite that, she couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him, and she was too tongue tied to even speak. And that was to say nothing of the mess of feelings that she was currently trying, and failing, to process. 

To her surprise, Kostas said nothing. No questions, no words of comfort; nothing. Instead, he used his free hand to hug her around the waist, bringing them ever so slightly closer together. His body heat gave her a much needed sense of comfort, and against her better judgement, she rested her head against his chest. Very soon, she could feel his other hand on the back of her head, gently stroking her hair through her winter hat. 

“You want to take a break?” Kostas quietly asked her. He must’ve thought she was dying of embarrassment - the innocent, inexperienced girl who’d just had her very first kiss. The truth was, that ‘milestone’ had barely even registered to her. It was everything surrounding it.

But removing all those external factors from the equation, she found she was glad she got to share this moment with him. He had never shied away from showing his affection for her, but he’d never once violated her admittedly stringent boundaries. Perhaps it was her lack of dating experience clouding her judgement, but she doubted very many people would’ve been even half as patient or understanding as he had been. 

A slight smile found its way onto Cammy’s face. She could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, something that grounded her in the moment and helped expel those troublesome worries. She’d have plenty of time to stress over them later, but not now.

“No,” she finally answered. “No, this is quite alright.”

Kostas’ only reply was a quiet, understanding hum. He kept holding her, no doubt savoring their embrace as much as she was. She was sure they got a few curious stares from the other skaters as they passed by them. When she fell, Cammy had ended up sliding a bit closer to the center of the rink, making it so they weren’t obstructing anyone by staying where they were. Perhaps they should’ve been somewhere a little more private, but just as it was back in the art gallery, the setting was irrelevant. He was her sole focus.

The two of them did get back to skating eventually, with her technique steadily improving until she felt confident in racing him around the track - he went easy on her, of course, but as always, he relished the spirit of competition. Soon enough, the sun had fully set and they kept on circling around the rink, arm-in-arm. They didn't say much of anything to each-other. They didn't need to. 

So yet again, Cammy lost herself in her thoughts. It went without saying, but things felt different now. Before today, she could never say where exactly her feelings lay when it came to Kostas. Ever since she learned of his circumstances, she felt compelled…no, obligated to help him. That was what the driving factor behind her staying with him, but the thing was, she had no practical way of doing that, at least not yet. So really, she was spending time with him just for the sake of it. That obviously threw a bit of a wrench into things, but what else was she to do? Besides, he was a decent person. Why shouldn't she spend time with him?

But today gave her some added perspective on the whole affair. This commitment he showed her - and it should have been obvious to her in hindsight - it was because he felt like she well and truly accepted him as he is, something he wasn’t used to. And more than that, he trusted her. He trusted her deeply. Why else would he confide in her as much as he had?

To know he treasured their connection that much, well...it made her see things differently. It made her happy. And she supposed that's what made the truth finally catch up to her.

She wasn’t pretending to be his girlfriend. She just was.

...

Chapter Text

The skating should’ve been the end of their little rendezvous. After they handed back their skates, they were supposed to have said their goodbyes and boarded their respective buses so they could go home and get some well-earned rest. But instead, Cammy and Kostas found themselves sitting on a ferry floating down the River Thames, taking in the sights of London at night.

Despite the increasingly chilly air, they were seated on the deck. At this time of day and this time of year, they didn’t have to worry about sharing the boat with too many other people; the handful of other passengers had sensibly chosen the heated lounge downstairs, which the two of them could have gone down to at any time. But instead, they remained on their little bench, huddling together as they watched the city go by them. They didn’t have any destination in mind. They still didn’t have very much to say to each other either. They were just there, just the two of them.

Cammy’s head rested against Kostas’ chest, who in turn had put an arm around her, doing what he could to keep her warm as evening finally turned to night. The sights around them weren’t anything she hadn’t seen before, but they were still pleasant enough, even if they weren’t what she was focusing on right now. Yet again, she was in her head and she couldn’t help but think about how…comfortable she was.

This impromptu cruise had been her idea, something she threw out after they’d handed in their skates and started wandering around near the river. The plan was to catch a bus together until their commute routes diverged, but Cammy realized that she didn’t like that plan very much. And so, she suggested the scenic route, which also happened to be the slower route, which naturally gave them more time they could spend together.

It wasn’t until they stepped onto the ferry when she thought to herself, “Oh.”

Maybe she had been naive enough to think this wasn’t going to happen. Maybe she would have preferred that this didn’t happen; it would make things that much more complicated. But it did happen, and well…she supposed it could be worse. 

“Whatchya thinkin about?” 

Kostas’ voice finally broke through their comfortable silence, amidst the sounds of shifting water and the traffic on either side of the river. “Quite a bit, actually,” she answered without really answering.

“Anything I can help with?” Upon hearing this, the corner of Cammy’s lips curled up in a smile. If only he knew…

“Only if you keep quiet,” she said in a much quieter voice than she meant to, nuzzling just a little closer to him and closing her eyes. It hadn’t dawned on her just how tired she was until that moment. She probably could have dozed off then and there, and that realization was equal parts comforting and terrifying. 

And then she felt his lips gently press against her forehead. It was a brief sensation, but it ended up rattling her to the core. Not that anyone could tell that from looking at her. She didn’t voice any objection - she didn’t even open her eyes. She just accepted it, and really, that was the most shocking thing about it all. 

But she didn’t want to dwell on that. She didn’t really want to think about any of the nonsense surrounding the man next to her. She just wanted to focus on him, even as the rational part of her mind was shouting at her about how much she was buggering everything up. 

Kostas complied with her request, giving her a precious few moments of peace until she finally heard his voice again. “Cam?” he whispered, probably to check if she was even awake.

“What?” She naturally wasn’t very happy that he’d interrupted her little mental retreat, but she also wasn’t even close to prepared for what he said next.

“You want to find a hotel?”

Her eyes practically shot open, but something compelled her not to look at him, or move at all, for that matter. “E-excuse me?” Cammy stuttered in spite of herself, as the realization that she may have let this get a little out of hand crashed down on her all over again. 

And if Kostas’ quiet laugh was any indication, he knew exactly what she was thinking. “Relax, I don’t mean it like you think I mean it,” he assured her. 

It was at this point she decided to look at him, more out of curiosity than anything else. “And how do you mean it then?” As ‘innocent’ as she may have been, even she knew an offer like this had certain connotations to it. 

“Well, I…” Kostas started to say, seemingly unable to find the right way to explain himself. “I don’t know. So we can just chill, I guess.”

“Chill?” She repeated after him, hoping she didn’t sound too confused.

“Yeah. Get some snacks, find something to watch; that sort of thing. We haven’t really gotten a chance to do that yet.”

“No, I guess we haven’t,” Cammy acknowledged, though she still didn’t give him a yes or a no. What he proposed sounded a lot more innocent than her initial guess, but it was still intimate in its own way. She hadn’t really been alone with someone in that way before, even as part of a mission.

“Too much, too soon?” Kostas asked her after a little while, drawing her attention back to him.

“No, but…” She debated telling him exactly what she was thinking, but she figured he’d already guessed it for himself. “I guess I wouldn’t mind a little privacy. I know our living arrangements don’t really make that easy.” 

“You don’t need to remind me,” he said with a chuckle. “Can’t exactly kick Michael out of his own apartment.” The last shard of Cammy’s blissful little illusion broke away the moment that name came up again. Any pretense that this was a normal romantic outing, or that her actions towards him were driven by…well, what were they driven by? Certainly not love. Right?

“So, was that a yes?” Kostas suddenly asked her, forcing her to put that question aside for the moment. 

“Well…do you not feel like going home tonight?” Cammy asked him, still not quite prepared to commit to anything. Maybe she was prying a little too much, maybe it was too personal a question, but maybe, just maybe, it would give her a better idea of what to do next. 

“Not really, no,” he replied with a shrug. His words were so casual, as was the smile he gave her upon delivering them. But it didn’t take her very long to piece together what he really wanted, especially with his confession in the gallery still fresh in her mind. 

He didn’t want her to leave - he didn’t want to be alone. He dressed it up in a way to avoid looking desperate, but deep down, he was. “It’s your call.” Kostas added on a little more of that same dressing, but his eyes silently pleaded with her, maybe without him meaning to. 

And so, Cammy was left to think, again. She broke Kostas’ gaze to avoid the added pressure, having more than enough factors to consider as is. The most important one was obviously how deep this relationship could be allowed to get; she needed to keep him close and ensure he trusted her, but did she need to…

She decided to hit the reset button. She was thinking of this like a mission even though it wasn’t. Her commander hadn’t ordered her to do any of this; if anything, this was distracting her from the orders he had actually given her. He hadn’t told her to put her day aside for this. He hadn’t ordered her to get on this boat. And he certainly didn’t tell her to let Kostas kiss her. 

“Umm…” It took her a while to say anything meaningful, seeing as she was still very much in her head. But at some point, she did meet his eyes again and gave him her answer. Maybe she was making a mistake, dooming one or both of them to inevitable heartbreak. But at that moment, it was what she wanted to say.

“Okay.” 

…

After spending a bit more time cruising down the river, the two of them got off at the nearest port and took a cab down to the hotel they’d picked out. Peak tourist season in London was still a ways out and there was still a brief window before the Christmas travel rush got into full swing, so they had little trouble finding a decent enough room for a decent enough price. 

Once they were checked in and getting settled in, there was one last order of business he needed to attend to, which was letting his cousin know about the change of plans. Cammy had texted her sisters before they even stepped foot in the hotel, but Kostas hadn’t followed her example. He wasn’t really sure why; he wanted to say it was because he was preoccupied with finding where they were going to stay, but that wasn’t the best excuse. In any case, while she was busy cleaning herself up in the washroom, Kostas got comfortable on the hotel bed and gave his cousin a call.

“Yeah? What is it?” Came Michael’s voice on the other end.

“Good evening to you, too,” was Kostas’ sarcastic greeting. “This a bad time?”

“Oh, it’s you. Sorry, didn’t look at who was calling,” said his cousin, his tone softening considerably. “And only if you’re going to ask for money.”

“Heh, not this time,” Kostas assured him. “Just thought I’d let you know I’m not gonna be coming home tonight. Cammy and I decided to book a hotel.”

There was a noticeable period where nothing came from the other end. For a second, Kostas worried the call had somehow dropped off or if cousin had for whatever reason hung up on him. “Hey, you still there?”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Michael. “ I take it your little outing went well, then?”

“I’d say so.”

“ I see. And you’re absolutely not going to ask me for money?”

Kostas couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Relax, I already paid. Besides, it’s not exactly high-end - I’m still well within my means.”

“Good man,” his cousin said with a chuckle. “By the way, since I have your ear, I have a ‘proposal’ for you.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“The company’s sponsoring a New Year’s gala at One Great George Street. Basically anyone worth a damn in this country’s tech world will be there. And guests are allowed to bring exactly one guest of their own along.”

Kostas sank back into the pillows with a sigh, knowing exactly where his cousin was going with this. “Do I have to go?”

“Yes,” Michael said without so much as a pause. “The only reason things like these happen is so people can rub elbows; it’ll be good practice for you.”

“This doesn’t sound like much of a proposal,” Kostas pointed out.

“That’s because I haven’t gotten to it yet. See, I can get you on the guest list no problem - as in, you won’t have to be a guest’s guest.”

He left Kostas to piece the rest together for himself, which he soon did. “What, you want me to bring Cammy?”

“If she’s up for it,” Michael confirmed. “I think it would make things more bearable for you, and much more entertaining for me.”

That logic didn’t really make much sense to him, but he decided to play along just a little. “Look, man, if you want me to prove she’s real, I can set up something a lot less complicated than…”

“Or we could see what the lady prefers,” his cousin interrupted. “I think it’s about time the two of us got acquainted. I’m sure she thinks so, too.” 

He was being oddly insistent on this, and oddly confident in his assessment of her. It was true that Cammy was quite curious about his cousin, but he never got the sense she was eager to meet him, and vice versa. As for Kostas, he couldn’t exactly say he was looking forward to it himself. He wasn’t sure why, but he got a bad feeling every time he pictured it.

“I don’t know if this sort of thing is her cup of tea,” Kostas said.

“And you won’t know unless you ask,” Michael pointed out in return. “So please do ask. If not tonight, then sometime soon. I’ll need to know how big a car I should rent out for you.” 

If one thing was for certain, there was no way he was weaseling out of going. And if all he really had to do was ask…

“Fine,” he finally agreed. 

“Wonderful,” said Michael. “Now, I think I’ve taken up more than enough of your time. You two have a good night. And Kostas…”

“What?”

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I only promise to try,” was Kostas’ cheeky reply. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, he finally hung up the phone and decided to set it aside for a bit. Cammy had yet to exit the washroom, giving him some time to really think through how he wanted the rest of the night to go. Truth be told, he hadn’t really expected her to agree to this.

At some point, he finally heard the washroom door open. Looking towards it, he saw Cammy step out; she’d naturally removed the fancy green jacket she’d been wearing, but she still had a comfy looking black turtleneck to protect her from the lingering chill. He noticed some time ago that she had a good eye for fashion. She always looked so…elegant.

“All good?” he asked as she walked over to the bed.

“Yeah,” said Cammy. “Probably would’ve been good to have a change of clothes, though. My jeans still feel a bit wet.”

Indeed, he could still see a few spots around her knees, the result of her falling on the ice. Just before they…

“Sorry for the short notice,” Kostas said before he could get too preoccupied.

“I’m sure I’ll get over it.” For the next little while, she just sort of stood there looking at him, her arms crossed over her chest. “Any objections from your cousin?”

Kostas had to shake his head a little to bring himself back down to Earth. “Oh, no, none,” he answered. “Though, uh…there was one thing he wanted me to do.”

This clearly piqued Cammy’s interest, if the raised brow was any indication. “Which is?”

At this point, Kostas wondered if it would be better to put this conversation off; it really wasn’t that big a deal, but he had the feeling it was going to kill the vibe. But he had her undivided attention now, so maybe…

“Eh, might as well just ask you now,” he decided. “There’s this New Year’s ‘party’ I’m supposed to go to - apparently it’s a good place to network or whatever.”

Cammy looked a little more confused now, but otherwise, she still seemed intrigued. “Okay,” she said. “And you’re telling me this, why, exactly?”

“Well, he asked me to ask you if you’d also like to come. You know, as my date.”

Once again, Cammy’s whole demeanor shifted. Now, she looked both confused and also a little surprised. “ He asked for me?” 

“Yeah, I thought it was a little weird, too,” Kostas admitted. “But you know, he’s been wanting to meet you for a while now. I don’t know if that feeling’s mutual, but…well, it’s your choice.”

And so, he left Cammy to think it over. While he waited for her response, he couldn’t help but notice that she looked a little conflicted, maybe even a little worried. It was probably the most “nervous” he’d ever seen her, and even then, she did an excellent job keeping it under wraps. It was just the long silence that gave her away.

“Hmm…” It didn’t look like she was going to come to a decision anytime soon, which he supposed was fair. Who really wanted to throw away their New Year’s Eve for some corporate meet-and-greet? Not him, that’s for sure.

“What do you think?”

The question came so suddenly that Kostas somehow didn’t realize it was meant for him at first. “Huh?”

“Would you like me to go?” Cammy clarified. As it turns out, it wasn’t really much of a question at all.

“Well…it would make it slightly more bearable.”

“Only slightly?” 

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that,” he said as he rolled his eyes. As for Cammy, she didn’t have to say anything else; all she had to do was put on a smirk, raise a brow and maintain eye contact. He broke almost instantly. 

“Okay, okay. Yes, I want you to go.”

This seemed like it satisfied her, but she still had to do a little more thinking before he finally got something out of her. “In that case, I’ll have to talk to my sisters first,” she said. “We were probably going to do something for New Year’s, but I’m sure they’ll understand. I’ll make it up to them.” 

“Whatever you guys were going to do, it would be a hundred times better,” said Kostas. “I won’t hold it against you if you choose that instead. At least one of us would be having fun then.”

“So you’re saying I should leave you to suffer alone? I could, but…” “The guilt would just eat away at you?” 

The two of them just sort of grinned at each other for a little while, with Cammy neither confirming nor denying that this is what she meant to say. “I’ll get back to you,” she promised him.

He noted that she still didn’t seem terribly enthusiastic about it, but that wasn’t much of a surprise. The important thing was that she didn’t immediately say no, and he was incredibly grateful for that. “Thanks,” was all he said.

With that out of the way, the two of them were left to ponder a different question, one that Cammy was the first to voice.  “So, what now?”

“I guess we’ll have to figure that out,” he said while patting the empty spot next to him. Even so, Cammy remained standing, and now, Kostas couldn’t help but be a little worried. “Unless you’re getting cold feet…”

“No, no,” she assured him, though she still didn’t move. “It’s just…well, I’m sure I don’t need to explain everything to you again.”

“Nope.” At this point, he was more than aware that he was Cammy’s first…well, everything, really. And that was why he had given her the option of renting out a room with two beds instead of one; it wasn’t his preferred outcome, but he definitely didn’t want to overwhelm her. But she’d insisted she was fine with this arrangement - just another way she had surprised him that day, he supposed. 

“So, are you sure you’re…”

All of a sudden, she just started laughing. It was a subdued laugh, one that ended about as quickly as it started, but it still left him dumbfounded. “Damn you…” he heard her utter.

“What?” If he wasn’t confused before, he sure was now.

Cammy went quiet again for another little while, which didn’t do his anxiety any favours. But then there was the way she was looking at him - with a soft smile, and a subtle twinkle in her eyes. 

“Oh, relax. I’m not angry with you or anything,” she finally assured him, though her gaze for whatever reason turned elsewhere. “You’re just too bloody sweet…” 

He got the sense that he was supposed to be relieved, but that wasn’t quite the feeling this comment inspired. “In a good or bad way?”

This drew her attention squarely back to him, but didn’t draw a response, or at least, not a verbal one. As if realizing that he wasn’t going to get the message otherwise, Cammy softly sighed to herself, made her way over and settled in next to him on the bed. And that was it, really. She didn’t try to touch him in any way, but she did scoot just that little bit closer to him when he didn’t make any moves of his own - it was about as clear a signal as she could send.

Once again, Kostas put an arm around her and again, she nestled against him, putting her head on his shoulder as the two of them just sort of stared at the blank TV opposite their bed, or maybe just the wall behind it. He could have, and probably should have, suggested trying to find something to watch, but he didn’t. For now, this was more than enough for him.

It really did feel like something had changed between them. Slowly but surely, Cammy had started getting more receptive to his touch, but their contact hadn’t been this prolonged before, or so…intimate. Maybe it didn’t look that way for an outside observer, but given how she had been approaching their relationship before now, it felt like a fairly big step. 

“I take it you’d like to talk about it?”

Cammy’s question cut through the silence like a knife, and Kostas was glad for it. He had been debating whether he should ask her something similar - it only seemed right, given recent developments.

“Do you?” He asked her back, which seemed to stump her more than it should have.

“What’s there to say?”

“Well, you know…how’re you feeling? Good? Bad? Unsure?”

This all seemed so obvious to him, but he got the sense that Cammy could use the prompt. He never could tell what was going on in her head and she wasn’t really the type to tell him straight up. And in this case, it was because she probably didn’t know herself.

“I…” she started to say before trailing off. “I don’t really know, to be honest with you. But I guess I see things more clearly now.”

“How do you mean?” Kostas asked, trying to make sense of her cryptic comments. Thankfully, this time it didn’t take long for him to get a cohesive answer.

“I guess it’s confession time again,” Cammy began. “Going into this, I can’t say I knew what I wanted. Juni vouched for you and I didn’t really want to disappoint her, so…”

As she spoke, she took a look over at him, and upon seeing the expression he was making, abruptly stopped. Her eyes quickly darted back and forth in embarrassment, and it looked like she was trying to be more careful with what she was going to say next. 

“Now, now, it had nothing to do with you,” she said, awkwardly nudging him with her elbow. “I just wasn’t looking to date anyone when I met you, that’s all.”

“Right…”  Kostas wasn’t really sure how he should take this information. It could have been that their entire time together was just a fluke, but they were still together. “So, what changed, then?” 

“You grew on me, clearly,” she casually answered. “You grew on me quite a bit…”

Cammy was now staring at the wall opposite her, her follow-up statement being spoken so quietly that he wondered if she had even meant for him to hear it. She almost sounded embarrassed - guilty, even. 

Before he could express any concern, she spoke again. “And how about you?” she asked, turning to look him in the eye. “How’re you feeling?”

Kostas really should’ve been more prepared for this question, given he opened this discussion to begin with. “Well…I think I might have a crush on you.”

To his surprise, this made her just a little flustered, at least if the way her eyes widened was any indication. “Really now?” 

He could tell she was trying to keep it cool, and he couldn’t help but smile at the effort. “Yep,” he said. “I know, it’s a little hard to believe.”

“Shut it, you!” Cammy gently shoved him to go along with this little outburst, but all this did was make him burst out in laughter. 

“Hey, it’s the truth!”

“Well then at least say it like you mean it!” 

“Oh, so you want me to mean it?”

Kostas could pinpoint the exact moment that her face turned beet red. It looked like she was trying to find a way to dance around it, but given their present circumstances, that would be pretty damn hard to do.

Groaning, she sank back against the pillows, and against him. “You are a child…” 

“But I grew on you, right?”

This earned him a side-eyed glare, but even so, he just kept on smiling at her. Just a few months ago, her doing this would’ve scared him shitless, but now…well, he knew better. Cammy acted all aloof and serious, but when she cared, she really cared. It wasn’t something he took for granted, but at this point, he was pretty good at telling when she really was mad at him or when she was just trying to keep up appearances. And nine out of ten times, it was the latter.

Just as he thought, this turned out to be one of those times. She could only keep the glare up for a few seconds before her expression softened. “It’s a fair cop,” she said.

“Huh?”

“You got me,” she translated for him, finally resuming eye contact with him. And now, it was his turn to get a little flustered as he slowly pieced together what she really meant by that.

“What, do you need me to spell it out for you?” Cammy teasingly asked. Maybe it was just him, but her voice sounded much lower than before, and much more alluring. 

“Uh…no.” Kostas could only hope he didn’t look as stupid as he felt. If he did, it didn’t seem to matter all that much to her.

“Well then, what’re you waiting for? You already did it once.”

She didn’t leave much room for interpretation this time. Maintaining eye contact, she just sat there and waited - waited for him to make his move. And for some reason, Kostas was hesitant to take that plunge again. This wasn’t like the spur-of-the-moment pull he felt back at the skating ring, where he somehow just knew that now was the right time. No, things were different now; it was just the two of them, and the woman in front of him knew exactly what she wanted. 

So it was a good thing he knew exactly what he wanted, too.

Gradually, Kostas relaxed, and slowly but surely started closing the distance between them. As he got closer, Cammy started moving closer too; it wasn’t by very much, but it was obvious that she wasn’t just letting things happen this time. 

The difference became even clearer when their lips finally met. It was still cautious, sure, but it felt so much more purposeful. “Mutual” might have been the right word for it; rather than him taking full initiative, they matched each other’s energy. They started off slow, more or less recreating the scene at Somerset House, but when that initial kiss ended and they broke apart, one look into each other’s eyes was all it took for them to know that neither of them would be satisfied if things ended here.

So they didn’t. 

Things only escalated after their kiss resumed. The hand Kostas had on Cammy’s shoulder moved to the back of her head, its fingers running through her short blonde hair. In return, he felt the tips of her fingers tepidly trail across his jaw before her hand finally settled on his left cheek. Little by little, Cammy eased into the kiss, and while it was obvious that she was learning as she went along, she turned out to be a lot more enthusiastic than Kostas had expected. At times, she hardly let him breathe, latching onto him and refusing to let go. 

Kostas wasn’t sure when he ended up on his back. He remembered being shocked by Cammy’s strength as she unexpectedly took control and pushed against him, ending up on top of him as she deepened their kiss even further. But that shock faded almost as quickly as it manifested. He eagerly accepted his new position, taking her in his arms and holding her as close as he could as the world around them faded away.

It was overwhelming in the best possible way. Months and months of longing, of deep-seated desire; all of it coming out at once. There was no caution anymore - just a hunger for more.

As his hands explored her back, he felt toned muscle beneath her sweater. Their contact had been so limited in their time together - they had hugged and cuddled as much as she was comfortable doing so, and he’d never dared give himself such freedom in exploring her body, no matter how much he craved it. Even now, he was trying to restrain himself, but the more they kissed, the more her sweater started to feel like an obstacle.

“Wait…” Cammy suddenly sputtered out, bringing their make-out session to a sudden end. Immediately, Kostas himself had a moment of clarity and pulled back, opening his eyes to find hers gazing at him. At first, he saw uncertainty, but there was something else building up just below the surface. Something warm.

“Cam?” He whispered to her, checking to see if everything was okay. And yet, she just kept staring at him, more or less unmoving except for one of her thumbs, which was now tracing small circles on his cheek. 

“Did you…want to take things further?” 

To his surprise, she didn’t sound upset or even uncomfortable; if anything, she sounded genuinely curious. It was such an innocent question that Kostas couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for letting things get to this point. “I meant what I said earlier,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting…”

“We’re not talking about me,” she cut him off suddenly. “Do you want to take things further?”

Her voice was so soft, so understanding. And as much as Kostas wanted to finish what he’d been saying, she wanted him to answer honestly. And so he did.

“Yeah. Do you?” 

Five seconds of silence was all he needed to determine the answer to that question - or rather, that she didn’t have one. By then, their intense eye contact had finally been broken, which made him even more certain. “I understand,” he assured her, though he couldn’t help but sigh before he did. 

“I…” It seemed like Cammy wanted to apologize, and that was the last thing he wanted her to do. But he didn’t need to stop her; instead, she just sort of zoned out, until she finally met his eyes again. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For putting up with me, I suppose,” she said. “I don’t like to think of myself as distrustful, but…well, let’s just say trust doesn’t come easily to me. Least of all *this* kind of trust.”

As Cammy spoke, Kostas couldn’t help but smile. Not just from how heartfelt her words, but from the unspoken implication behind them. That she wanted to trust him, and to a certain degree, she already did trust him. Why else would she be here with him, away from prying eyes? 

Deciding to ease the tension a little, Kostas gave her a small peck on the lips. “Like I said, I understand,” he repeated once they broke apart again. “And I guess I ought to thank you, too. For listening and all that.”

“No need,” she softly replied. “It was the least I could do.”

He wondered if she understood how important that simple action had really been to him. Not even the words of encouragement she gave afterwards, but just sitting and listening - nonjudgemental, understanding. A part of him felt a little selfish for dropping all of that on her in the middle of a date, but now he felt so…relieved. Like a massive burden had been lifted off his shoulders. 

“I haven’t really told anyone about all that before, at least, no one who didn’t already know about it,” he admitted. “It’s not something I thought people needed to know about me.”

“Kostas…” The way she said his name was so mellow, so affectionate. He still had a lot he wanted to say, but it almost got caught in his throat as he lost himself in her gaze. One of his hands left her back and soon settled over the hand she had on his cheek, lacing their fingers together as he tried his hardest to find the right words to string together.

“Well, now you know…” was all that came out. He knew he shouldn’t make too big a deal of it; he’d dumped enough on her today already. 

“Yeah, I do,” Cammy quietly said. “And it changes nothing. I still…”

She stopped then, leaving the rest unsaid. Naturally, speculation took over Kostas’s mind, all aiming to answer one burning question. “You still what?”

He didn’t push her, as much as he wanted to know what she’d meant to say. Whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t easily said, seeing as it felt like ages passed by them before he heard Cammy’s voice again. “Oh, alright,” she said, seemingly more to herself than to him. “I’m falling for you.”

Something told him that this wasn’t what she wanted to say initially, but in the moment, that didn’t really matter. He was still left to lie there, almost petrified as he stared at her with widened eyes. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re surprised,” she teased him. By that point, it probably looked like he wasn’t going to say anything for the rest of the night, and this gave him a much-needed push to finally acknowledge her confession.

“A little…” he admitted. “You’re hard to get a read on sometimes.”

“I know,” Cammy acknowledged. “And that’s why I wanted to be more open with you.” 

It made Kostas unreasonably happy to say that she was staying true to her word. The two of them hadn’t really talked about their feelings much, mostly because Cammy kept hers so close to her chest. He never doubted that she cared about him, but he could never really tell to what extent. Until now, that is.  

“How am I doing, by the way?”

Kostas had to hold back a laugh. Despite her playful tone, it didn’t really feel like she was teasing him by asking this; it felt like a genuine question. “Pretty good,” he answered. 

“And what can I do to improve?” 

It didn’t take very long for an idea to come to him, and the moment it did, it brought a cheeky little grin to his face. “I can think of one way.”

“And what’s that? Become a better kisser?”

Once again, she managed to read him like a book and completely turn the tables on him. “I didn’t say that,” he said, without any of the confidence he had just a second ago. And judging from her quiet chuckle, this was exactly the effect she had been looking for.

“Well, in any case, you wouldn’t mind if I practiced a bit more, right?” Cammy was so close now that he could almost taste her, their noses practically touching. He wasn’t sure where this side of her had been hiding all this time, but he had to say, he liked it. And she clearly knew it.

“I didn’t think so.”

Closing what little distance between them was left, Cammy gently kissed him. This time, he decided to let her set the pace and experiment a little just as she’d wanted, and as the minutes passed by them, he noticed her technique gradually improving. It was a little hard to believe that she’d only had her very first kiss just a few short hours ago.

Pride and joy swelled in Kostas’s chest as that moment replayed in his head. He remembered feeling like if he didn’t seize the moment then, then he would never get the chance to again - and then, once it was over, it felt like everything had changed. The connection he felt to her before was already quite strong, but now…well, maybe it was a little naive, but now it felt unbreakable.

Eventually, Kostas rolled Cammy onto her back, continuing their kiss without the slightest hint of interruption. She didn’t protest the loss of her dominant position, nor did she seem particularly bothered now that he was looming over her, casting a shadow on her much smaller frame. But this was as far as he went. She’d drawn a fairly clear line on what she was comfortable with, and he wasn’t going to cross it.

He wasn’t sure when his fatigue finally caught up with him, or for how long the two of them continued “practicing” until they practically passed out next to each other, their foreheads still pressed together. It wasn’t quite the way Kostas had expected the rest of that evening to go, but he somehow knew that he would remember it for the rest of his life. 

…

Chapter Text

“And that’s the long and short of it.”

Cammy was standing in the middle of her flat, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes focused straight ahead, staring at nothing in particular. Behind her, Juni and Decapre were seated on their sofa, ruminating over everything she just set out for them. Kostas’ invitation, his cousin’s insistence that she attend and…other details she felt were relevant to mention, but nothing more than that.

Still, it was enough for them to deduce that things had changed.

“Well, it looks like you were onto something after all,” she heard Decapre say to Juni, an attempt to cut through the tension of the room. Though she couldn’t see it, Cammy just knew she had a sly little smile on her face.

“I guess so,” Juni said, though she didn’t sound all too proud of it at the moment. “So, Cammy? What now?”

Cammy remained silent, still lost in thought. She could feel her sisters’ expectant eyes on her, putting pressure on her to give them an answer, even if that wasn’t their intent. The strange thing was that she knew exactly what she needed to do, yet something was holding her back, and it wasn’t the pragmatic caution that had guided her so far.

It was uncertainty - perhaps even fear. Fear of what could follow.

“I suppose I’ll have to go,” she said with a sigh. “If nothing else, I can finally put my suspicions to the test.” 

“And the same goes for him,” Decapre chimed in. “You say you think he laundered money for Shadaloo - if that’s the case, surely he at least knows of you…of us. Our main purpose was to punish those that crossed Bison, after all.” A pang of regret gripped Cammy’s heart, and surely theirs as well. They all had blood on their hands - names and faces they couldn’t remember, voices forever silenced by them.

“It’s a possibility,” she acknowledged. “But me avoiding meeting him might make him even more suspicious. The same goes for Kostas.”

“Is he suspicious of you?” Juni suddenly chimed in.

“No, not that I can tell,” Cammy replied. “Besides, his cousin wouldn’t have told him anything close to the truth. He would never believe it, and even if he did, it would open up too many unwanted questions.”

Juni’s only acknowledgement was a quiet “Mmm…” before she leaned back against the cushions, her arms folded nervously over her chest. Out of the three of them, she somehow seemed the most troubled by these developments…and she knew exactly why.

“You know I can’t tell him, Juni. Not yet. I still need proof.”

“And what if there just isn’t any?” Juni asked her, sounding more dejected than critical. “You keep talking like you know you’re right about him. Have you considered even for a second you’re not?”

Her words were pointed, but she could tell they didn’t come from a place of frustration. Cammy knew that her suspicions about Michael were just that, and that even if they were true, there may very well be factors that she simply wasn’t aware of. Coercion, blackmail; the list was endless. 

But that wasn’t the reason Juni brought this up. She wasn’t that naive - she could see the signs just as clearly as her. She just wished that they weren’t.

“She is right,” Decapre said without hesitation, drawing their attention to her. “The technology SiRN is putting on the market could’ve only come from one place, and if he’s that deeply entrenched in the company, then he must know of its true origin. And that makes him complicit.” 

Listening to her speak, one would think she’d been studying this case from the beginning, rather than only being filled in mere minutes ago. And she didn’t mince words. She never did. 

“Right…” Cammy finally said, even if she wasn’t exactly thrilled to be validated. “But every audit and investigation into SiRN has come up clean, so there’s no use in going through that same old song and dance again. They’re too good at covering their tracks.”

“So what does that leave us with?” Juni inquired. “Grilling the cousin for answers? Interrogating him?” 

“It’ll have to be more discrete than that,” said Cammy. “It’s too public a venue to extract him, and besides, it’ll be too obvious if someone like him goes missing. I’ll just have to see what I can coax out of him.” She would’ve left it there, but it was far from a foolproof plan - it was far more likely she would turn up with nothing. And so she added, “But it would be preferable to search right at the source.”

The two of them understood what she was getting at almost immediately. “And you’ll just so happen to be at the source,” Decapre pointed out. 

“Yeah, with no way to dig any deeper,” Juni added on. “It’s a huge building. Even if you knew exactly where to look, you can’t exactly slip away and come back without raising any eyebrows. That’s not even mentioning whatever security they’re sure to have.” 

“I know,” Cammy said. “Which is why I’m not going to do it.”

At first, she seemed rather surprised, confused even. “Then how…” It’s then that a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head. She looked over at Decapre, then back to Cammy, then back again. Eventually, her eyes settled on Cammy, an understanding smile finding its way onto her face.

“Oh, now I get it,” she said. “That could work.”

A confused Decapre looked between them, trying to piece together what she was missing. “What could work?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it for now,” Cammy assured her, unable to keep herself from smiling just that little bit. “There’s still a lot of things I need to work out. The important thing is that I need your help. Both of you.” 

Juni and Decapre shared a cautious glance, though between the two of them, she didn’t see a hint of doubt. “Okay,” was the answer Juni gave, speaking for them both. “We’ll help you with your boy troubles.”

“It’s not about…” 

“Cammy.” The firm, but soft sound of Decapre’s voice stopped any attempt at justification dead in its tracks. There was no sign of sly amusement on her face, only muted concern. “You need to be honest with yourself. Why does this matter so much to you?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Naturally, she would have said that it would bring them one step closer to exposing what remained of Shadaloo and S.I.N., ensuring they could no longer conduct their dark research and rake in their blood money. All of that was still true…but it wasn’t the whole truth. 

Her gaze turned to Juni, not for assistance or assurance, but mostly to see if she really had to say it. And in return, she just gave her a sweet little smile, as if to tell her that it was okay, that her answer to Decapre’s question wouldn’t change hers. Then again, Cammy always knew it wouldn’t.

“I…” she started to say, stopping in spite of herself. “I meant what I said to him.” 

It surprised even her, both now and in the moment those fateful words all but tumbled out of her mouth. She expected to feel embarrassment, even shame, but instead she had found herself feeling relief. And why wouldn’t she? Really, it was the first time she had been thoroughly honest with him.

Maybe it was his boyish charm, maybe it was his seemingly endless patience…or maybe it was because she saw much of herself in him - maybe too much. He was lost, unsure of who he really was or who he should be, all while others were shaping his path without him even realizing it. But Cammy knew he could be more. She wanted him to be more.

The looks she received from her sisters weren’t teasing or speculative, but empathetic. They understood that this was personal for her - the sort of thing that she could only trust them with. 

“Well, alright then,” said Decapre. “Where do we start?”

…

Elsewhere

Kostas sat in the lobby of SiRN’s recently opened building in the heart of Paddington, mindlessly going through games of Spades with little regard for whether he won or lost. He had to rush over here from the other side of the city almost the moment his classes ended for the day and clearly, he’d arrived a bit too early. Michael was still busy with something or another upstairs, and it’s not like he was getting in without him.

Out of sheer boredom, he looked around the lobby. If he had to describe it, it was “aggressively corporate”, with perfectly polished floors and walls with sunlight pouring in through large glass windows. The temperature was set to exactly that annoying gray area where it was too hot if he kept his jacket on, but too cold when he took it off, forcing him to settle for sitting with it awkwardly unzipped. Beyond that, the only things of note were a few plants that were almost certainly fake and the reception desk, headed by a young woman who was clearly just as bored as he was. Needless to say, the only thing he could do was wait.

And so, as was often the case nowadays, his thoughts turned to Cammy. It had only been a few days since he last saw her, but he hadn’t heard anything from her in that time. He assumed it was because she was still thinking his suggestion over - or rather, his cousin’s suggestion over - but he didn’t think it would take all that long. He told himself that he was just being paranoid and tried to focus on the digital cards he was bidding, but he found it impossible to get her out of his head.

Things between them had changed. While he would never call her timid, she had a tendency to shy away from physical affection, but last time, she just…didn’t. If anything, she’d welcomed it, even though she still drew a clear line that he wasn’t about to cross. Not yet. 

But that wasn’t what his mind always ended up circling back to. It was what she said to him - proof that he hadn’t misread her feelings or intentions. And sitting there, playing her words over and over again in his head, he found himself wondering why he hadn’t said anything similar back, and more than that, what exactly he should’ve said. What he wanted to say to her.

Before he could figure it out, he heard an elevator open. He’d instinctively looked their way at least half a dozen times, seeing only some other employees or suits coming and going for lunch. This time however, he finally saw his cousin heading his way, his perfect three piece suit contrasting with the so-called “business casual” look Kostas was able to scrounge together that morning. 

“Sorry about that,” Michael said as he approached him. “I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour at least.”

“You said to come early,” Kostas pointed out.

“Not this early. You really didn’t have anything better to do?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

His cousin just looked down at him, not quite glaring, but clearly not amused by his comment…or so he made it seem for the first few seconds. Afterwards, he just chuckled and mussed up his hair, undoing what effort Kostas had put into making it look neat. It probably wasn’t the most professional gesture in the world, but it was one he was used to - he was still his little cousin, after all.

“Then I promise not to waste too much of your time” he said, motioning for him to follow him back to the elevators - as he walked away, Kostas heard him whisper “Little shit” as affectionately as one could. With a smirk on his face, he followed after his cousin, but not before he checked one last time to see if there was anything in his inbox. 

“Still waiting for word from your lady friend?” Michael asked him, as if reading his thoughts, tapping his ID tag against a sensor that allowed him to call down the elevator. 

“Huh?” He lowered his phone out of instinct, putting the screen against his thigh even though he had nothing to hide. “Oh, yeah, yeah. She just said she had to talk to her sisters or whatever.”

“Her sisters, you say? How do they affect her decision at all?” 

If he was being honest, that was a question Kostas had asked himself as well, even with the reason Cammy gave him. “Don’t know,” he answered. “They all seem pretty close - she probably would’ve liked to spend New Years’ with them.”

For whatever reason, Michael didn’t seem fully convinced by his explanation. For the briefest moment, he even looked a little worried, but then again, he always had something he had to worry about. “Family is family, I guess,” he finally said, adjusting his collar just as the elevator was due to arrive. “Anyway, checking every few minutes won’t make her respond any faster. Try to at least pretend you’re interested in being here, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Kostas said with a sigh. 

The elevator only took them up to the 7th floor before Michael led him out, bringing him into a sleek, futuristic hallway. Linear lights along the battened walls spanned up from the ceiling all the way down to the floor, with the floors and the walls on either side being decked out with a slick white silicone. Basically, the exact type of vibe a robotics company would go for, and it was already giving Kostas a headache. 

In front of them was what looked to be a workspace, separated with glass doors. Inside, he could see a handful of people in lab coats typing away in front of monitors, some going from desk to desk to pass out papers or simply to double check what their colleagues were working on. One of said lab coats - a guy who looked more like a bouncer than a scientist - stepped out into the hall to greet Michael, leaving Kostas to stand around for a good few minutes while his cousin explained why they were here. 

Eventually, he was handed a small card before the scientist decided to return to work, which Michael in turn handed to him. “Put that on. They’ll probably use you as target practice otherwise.” 

Taking the card, Kostas found that it was an ID tag of sorts, with his name and the company’s logo on it. However, it only listed him as a visitor rather than an intern, so he doubted that it could open very many doors.

“Target practice?” 

Michael just smirked at him and motioned for him to follow, opening up the glass door that led to the workstations. “You’ll see.” 

From there, he led him through the rest of the floor, giving him a proper glimpse at how the company operated and what he could expect to see in the not so distant future. First, he introduced him to a bunch of the scientists, who were all too happy to tell him about the “groundbreaking” research SiRN undertakes every single day, constantly developing and refining their AI models. Naturally, the next thing they showed him were some of their data centers; the room they visited only had about a half dozen of them, but they told him they had dozens more in just this building alone, each of which probably took up a small town’s worth of power daily. 

Kostas could say he absorbed some of what they told him - he’d taken a few computer science courses as part of his program, but stuff like coding had never exactly been his strong suit. So it was a good thing that that wasn’t what they were going to have him doing. 

And then came the part that was actually relevant to him - the products he would help put together.

Taking a few flights of stairs up, the two of them arrived at another glass door, this one with a red sensor and a sign indicating this area was for authorized employees only. After Michael tapped his ID against the sensor, it flashed green, permitting them to pass into a set of long, winding corridors with several similar doors, each one leading to different, open rooms full of test equipment, but strangely no humans in sight.

The first few labs they passed were especially wide, full of targets you’d typically see in a shooting range. Some were easily visible, while others were hidden behind barriers and others periodically popped out from behind cover every so often. Curious, he stopped to watch and soon spotted a drone flying through the air. With terrifying speed and precision, it fired at the targets that were out in the open, all but obliterating them with a blast of energy; it soon did the same with the targets hiding behind cover, predicting their movements flawlessly. 

“Completely autonomous, by the way,” Michael said from behind him. “All you have to do is dial in its parameters and flip the on switch; after that, it can carry on with that same task for days on end.”

All that was impressive for sure, but it wasn’t anything Kostas hadn’t heard before. “That tech has existed for years,” he pointed out.

“Oh, I know,” said Michael. “The key to business isn’t doing something that no one else has done before - it’s just doing something better than the other guy. And the guys working here are just that much better.”

It was a little hard for Kostas to simply take his word for it. Obviously SiRN wouldn’t have gotten as big as it did so quickly if the stuff they were selling was just mediocre, but he struggled to think of what the guys behind it knew that made them stand out from other companies. He remembered watching a few interviews with its CEO, who had made a big deal of their focus on what he called “adaptive” AI and what it could mean for the field of robotics.

But that was all hype. That was his job after all, to get people talking and speculating. He hadn’t really explained how they’d even developed it and what any of that meant - he just said it existed. 

And yet Michael sounded awfully sure in his statement, and it was obvious that he could tell Kostas wasn’t quite convinced yet. “Wanna see what else they’ve cooked up?”

“What, you mean those smart fridges of yours? I’ve seen plenty of videos about them online.”

Michael chuckled. “Don’t worry, you’re going to get very familiar with those when you start,” he said, almost teasing him. “I meant something a bit above the starting pay grade.”

Now that sounded intriguing. Companies like SiRN liked to go on about how they were building the future before thrusting it on the rest of the world and so far, nothing he saw could be considered too revolutionary. Maybe there was something to all their buzzwords after all.

“Are you sure I’m allowed to?”

Michael shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t worry about it,” was his inconclusive answer. “It should be just down here. Come on.”  

With that, he followed his cousin down the hall, passing by a few other test rooms along the way. He caught only fleeting glimpses of what was going on inside: more drone tests, a more traditional assembly line robot screwing in a single part over and over again with careful precision; basically anything a typical robotics company was in the business of making. 

But from the beginning, he got the sense that SiRN wasn’t a typical robotics company, and that was proven when Michael brought them to what felt like the center of this winding set of labs. Then, without a word, he motioned for him to look through the glass.

Inside, he could see sterile rooms of varying sizes, each of them appearing to be dedicated to testing the various robots SiRN produced. Many of them were set up like obstacle courses, starting with simple elevations and gaps, and steadily increasing in complexity until it got to things like acrobat poles and rock-climbing walls. And inside each one, he was shocked to see sleek, faceless robotic models clearing each of their assigned obstacles with ease, jumping, climbing and performing complex gymnastics as fluidly as a human athlete would, if not more so.

Kostas could only stand there and watch them move in wide-eyed, slack-jawed amazement. These were nothing like the clunky, lumbering models he’d seen in videos or seminars; hell, it was beyond anything he’d seen in movies. 

“See that?” Michael said beside him. “And odds are those models aren’t even going to make it to market.”

The almost casual way he said this was somehow the most surprising thing about all of this - as if even this miracle of science was the bare minimum he expected.  “So, what, these are all just test models?” 

“I just manage the books, remember? All I know is that those code monkeys down there are asking for a lot of money for this - you tell me if you think they’re worth the risk.”

Kostas looked back into the testing chamber, watching one of the models conclude their obstacle course without any sign of fatigue or deterioration. “It’s…incredible,” he said. 

“But also a little scary, right?” 

Kostas looked back towards his cousin, whose expression was almost unreadable as he looked into the chamber. “You can be honest,” he said to him. “It’s not my life’s work you’re insulting.”

Looking back at the robot, Kostas still felt that sense of wonder and amazement, but the sight was also…unnerving. Everything down to its most basic movements felt unnatural - too precise, too lifelike. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it was like it had taken whatever skills it needed to clear the course - gymnastics, sprinting, whatever - and fully absorbed it, recreating the movements perfectly without really understanding the meaning behind them. 

“I don’t really get it,” he finally said.

“Get what?” Michael asked.

“You said that these things might not even go up for sale, so what exactly are you guys building them for? Bragging rights?”

“Knowing some of the people calling the shots, probably,” he said, though he didn’t seem to find his joke too funny. “But I guess you’d know better than me why these things get made.”

“Well, yeah, to do the things we don’t want to do. Nobody’s going to care if one of their legs gets broken,” he said while motioning to one of the bots.

“I would. That’s a lot of money down the drain.”

“Yeah, well you only ever think in pounds and dollars,” Kostas said without really meaning to. Michael turned to him, surprised but not exactly angry. Unable to keep his gaze, he looked back at the training room in front of them, not focusing on anything in particular. “Sorry, Mike.”

“Don’t be. You’re almost right,” his cousin said with a sigh. “I try not to think too hard about how these people think or where they’re taking things. I just keep the money moving - same as I’ve always done.”

“Do you ever get tired of it?” 

He asked the question before he could stop himself, once again bringing about an uneasy silence. Michael stood with his arms crossed, tapping a nervous finger against his elbow; it wasn’t common that he had to think about what to say. And then finally, he spoke.

“Why do you think I left my last job?” 

Admittedly, this was a question Kostas had asked himself plenty of time before. Working for a central bank, even in a country as small as Cyprus, was a pretty sweet gig, and he just up and quit one day to work for this robotics start-up that not even he had heard of. Michael was an accountant - he didn’t like risks, so he had to know that against all odds, this company was going to take off.

They stood there, the original focus of their conversation forgotten as they stared into the sterile room - their shared future. Lacking a watch, Kostas took out his phone to check the time, wanting an excuse for them to leave as soon as possible. And that’s when he noticed something - a new message.

Even before he opened it, he knew it was from Cammy. And sure enough, once he opened it up, he found it written in her typical straight-to-the-point fashion.

I’ll go.

Michael must’ve noticed him staring at the screen, no doubt for longer than he needed to. “What’s up?”

“Oh, it’s Cam. She says she can go to that New Year’s thing after all.”

Michael raised a brow, half confused and half amused. “Cam?”

Heat rushed to his cheeks as realization set in. “Cammy,” he clarified. “I meant to say Cammy.”

“I figured,” his cousin said. And that’s when he started smiling, shaking his head as he turned his gaze back toward the room. “Oh boy, what am I going to do with you?” 

Kostas felt like he should’ve said something, but ultimately, he decided it was better to just stay quiet. He’d told him everything that he needed to tell him. Instead, he quickly shot Cammy a reply.

Great! I let my cousin know

I’ll give you more details soon

“Kostas.” His cousin’s tone was half tease, half warning. The message was clear; “Put the goddamn phone away.”

“Alright, alright, I’m done,” he insisted, shoving his phone back in his pocket and taking a deep, relieved breath. “I’m just doing what you asked, remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Michael said, still smirking. “I gotta say, I’m really looking forward to meeting whoever’s put such a spell on you.” 

“Please shut up,” Kostas muttered just loud enough for him to hear, drawing the first genuine laugh from him that day.

“You’d better make sure not to talk to people who decide your paycheque that way,” he jokingly said before turning to leave, heading back the way they came. “Now come on, let’s get out of here. The lab coats don’t like when the suits gawk at their work for too long.”

Kostas spared one more look towards the training room, finding that the robot that had so awed him was nowhere to be found, no doubt having been ushered out while he was distracted. As he walked away, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to - not yet, anyway. But if he had any future with this company, and that seemed to be Michael’s hope, then this would no doubt be what he would be dealing with. 

Whether he had a choice in the matter was another question entirely. 

…