TERRIBLE THINGS

two

The cafe was the best in town.

Hot, ginger tea - flavored further by hints of lemon and honey - warmed Huraira. It was sweet, but not too sweet, a perfect harmony of flavors. Huraira set down her cup, letting out a content sigh.

"This tea is so good," Bonnie whined. "But why is it so expensive?"

"I already told you not to worry about the price," Huraira said, taking another sip. "You can get whatever you want. I'll pay for it."

"But it's your birthday," Bonnie grumbled. "I wanted to treat you for once."

"Well I want to treat you for my birthday," Huraira said, shaking her head. "You and Jase both get so worked up about it and I have no idea why."

Bonnie shifted in her chair, still pouting. It had been a month since the Frost Festival and Huraira figured the pair of them were something like girlfriends. They never really put a name on it. Huraira just knew that right now, the way the light caught in Bonnie's eyes - making them into pools of amber - that was what beauty was.

"It's important," Bonnie mumbled, taking a sip of tea. "And Jase made you that little paper fish thing and it was so cute so I feel bad."

"Jase made it when he was supposed to be working," Huraira said, rolling her eyes. "I don't know what kind of game Jase and Kova are playing but I'm certain they're not supposed to be playing it. Reports are supposed to be filed by both partners - separately. So there are two separate accounts."

"When are those reports even used?"

"Mainly at the end of the year so Stingray can total the number of Smiles killed and then show which Agents - or Agent - killed the most." Huraira shook her head. The main reason was actually just to keep Agents busy for a day or two so Stingray didn't have to pay them as frequently and they didn't level up as fast.

"I always wondered how they did that," Bonnie said. "The Executioner's won that for the past like... forever, right?"

"Eight out of the last ten years," Huraira said.

"You think we'll ever make it up there?" Bonnie asked. "Not like... number one but in the top ten."

"Sure," Huraira said.

Maybe. Someday.

"I think the Viper is trying her hardest to take that spot this year," Huraira said. "She knows she only has a couple of years left of fieldwork left in her."

"She's already like twenty-seven, right?" Bonnie asked, pursing her lips.

"Yep," Huraira said. "She's the oldest woman still in the field and half of Last City is on her ass for not having a husband already." She shook her head and took another sip of her tea. "I wonder if she's like us?"

Bonnie shook her head. "I don't think so. I always thought she and the Executioner were kind of a thing."

"Ryenar, no," Huraira said. "They hate one another."

"Like you and Jase," Bonnie said with a laugh.

Huraira laughed as well. "I don't hate Jase," she said. "I'm actually rather fond of him - just don't let him know that. He's got a big enough head as it is." She smiled, thinking of the paper fish that sat on her desk. He'd always given her something like that for her birthday. He didn't have the Notes to afford anything else. Huraira would never tell him, but she always liked his gifts better than any pearl necklace or diamond earrings.

Something seemed to shift in Bonnie then. She tugged at the scarf around her neck. "I don't... I don't suppose we could tell Jase, could we?"

Huraira set her cup down. "No."

"You- you really think he would tell?"

For a long time, Huraira couldn't find an answer. She didn't know what Jase would do if he found out. She wanted to believe that he would just accept it but... there was that nagging fear. That Jase would tell. That her father would find out. She shook her head in frustration, her eyes squeezed shut. "I- I just don't want to risk it."

Bonnie sighed and nodded. "I understand," she said. "I wouldn't ever want to tell Kova."

Huraira shuddered at the thought of Kova finding out. Jase was one thing but Kova... Kova was an entirely different beast. And maybe it was just her imagination but Kova's eyes always seemed to gaze past the rings of reality. He seemed to know things about people just by the way they walked. And for someone like Huraira - someone so worn down by secrets she couldn't tell anyone - that was terrifying.

But Huraira would never let her fear show. Not of her father and definitely not of some scrawny kid. "I'll kick Kova's ass. I could take him."

Bonnie giggled. "I love you."

Huraira stared at her, startled. Love? Huraira didn't know anything about that? No father, barely a mother, how dare Huraira make something as precious and beautiful as Bonnie utter such a thing about love to her? All Huraira knew was the way it felt to hug Bonnie, to hold her hand, to steal kisses in the thick of twilight.

Was that love? Huraira was the last person to ask on the subject. Ryenar and Hykelia... what was she supposed to do?

"Hey," Bonnie said. "Don't think too hard about it. You don't have to say it back. Just... just know that I'll love you, to the best of my ability and I swear... I swear to the Twelve Saints that I'm never going to stop loving you for things out of our control."

Huraira didn't know she was crying until the tear hit the back of her hand. Wiping her eyes, Huraira smiled. So perhaps there was a better birthday present than Jase's little paper fish. Bonnie... Bonnie was amazing. Even though they lived dangerous lives in a twisted world... it didn't stop her from loving another person.

How Huraira envied her.

[author's note]

completely forgot to update on wednesday OOPS-