"Where have you been?" Ada pulled Haruto into a quick hug the moment he appeared. It was the third day after her first 'therapy' session with Genevieve, and things were pretty much looking up. Not just Genevieve's cooperation, but she and Raymond seemed to have a better flow. I think...
Haruto smiled as he settled next to Ada on the couch. "Was here and there. Needed to clear my head." He did a double-take at the TV screen and made a face. "Is that Coraline?"
"It wasn't me." Ada raised both hands. "Blame Genevieve's weird taste in movies."
"But you're the one watching it."
"Yup. Those creepy button eyes," Ada said with a shiver as she looked at the screen.
Genevieve and Raymond had left for the reef restoration centre some hours back. Since Ada got a little bored, she decided to watch a movie. The part about Coraline being Genevieve's taste was true, though. The movie was listed as one of her favourites in her file.
"Many things happened while you were gone," Ada said as she pulled two packs of popcorn from her bag and passed one to Haruto. It was only after she received a message from the Helmets concerning Haruto that she realised she had no means of contacting him.
"Let me guess, things are progressing nicely with your assignment."
"How did you know?" Ada's eyes widened. Wouldn't it be a bad thing for Haruto if Raymond and Genevieve ended up together? Rifters rift matches after all. And Teddy's voice remained at the back of her mind, warning her to be careful. "Is... is that not a bad thing for you?"
"I get the bias. Hold on." Haruto reached for his backpack and retrieved a sleek device that resembled a smartphone but was twice as small. One tap and a screen projected over it.
"Woah." Ada crowded in, her curiosity blasting through the roof. What other cool stuff did Rifters have? It'd be sick to explore their division. "Is this your version of a logger?"
"Yes and no." Haruto began swiping. "It's more of a tracker. Remember how I told you a rifter's duties are not limited to rifting?"
Ada gave an eager nod.
"Well, I have good news." Haruto's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Look at this."
Ada frowned at a nearly full battery icon with 70% blinking next to it. As she watched, it climbed to 71%. "What am I looking at?"
"That's Raymond's recovery. I haven't checked it for the longest time because it kept fluctuating between thirty and thirty-five per cent. His progress began about seven months before he met your assignment, but it was super slow. Now look at this." Haruto tapped the battery icon and more details popped up. "He had the fastest growth during this trip. How wild is this?" Haruto laughed.
But you're meant to be a cupid. Ada couldn't choose between being sad or happy for Haruto, so she settled with forcing a smile. Maybe she shouldn't tell him about the Helmet's needing his audience. "How many more per cent before you complete your mission?"
Haruto collapsed into the cushion, starfishing his arms and legs with a big sigh. "Once I hit eighty per cent, I'm good as done."
Ada's heart sank. It was too fast. Only nine more per cent and Haruto could leave. "Umm—"
"Five years. I've been stuck with Raymond for five years, watching my suggestions fail and him outrightly resisting change. Not a single therapy session worked for him, and he kept rejecting help from his folks. I thought he would never recover." Haruto shook his head, eyes going distant. "Two more years of that and this assignment would have been a burst. My second failure as a rifter."
Unable to help it, Ada blurted out her question. "Wouldn't you miss me when you're done?"
"Of course, I will." Haruto sat up and sighed again. "But it's out of my hands at this point. He's speeding towards recovery, and I don't see what can ruin things. Well, except if that happens."
Ada perked up. "What happens?"
"Something happens to trigger his trauma, and instead of pushing through, he slides back to misery. Things will likely turn worse than they were before." Haruto shook his head. "No way I'm that unlucky, though. Raymond is not fragile."
"Yeah," Ada mumbled.
On the screen, a horrifying spider woman was chasing after Coraline. As they munched popcorn and watched the movie, Ada weighed her options. Telling Haruto that the Helmets wished to see him may scare him off, but Ada's words alone were not enough to make the Helmets file a formal complaint against Luke. They needed Haruto's testimony of his unfair treatment.
"How about we go to my division today?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Haruto said around a mouthful of popcorn. At least he didn't seem as resistant to the idea as the first time she mentioned it.
"You may not believe me, but I swear my division isn't like The Northern Cupid Division. Our Helmets are the absolute best."
Haruto chuckled, seeming super chill. "Now that I think of it, my view of the northern division may be flawed. I bet other successful cupids see the division differently." His brow bunched. "Know what? Luke aside, it wasn't that bad."
"Yeah-yeah." Ada rolled her eyes and waved away his words. "I'll take that statement seriously after you've visited my division and made a comparison."
"Why make it a contest?"
"It's hardly a contest," Ada said with a proud tilt of her nose. "I know my division is better." Standing, she offered Haruto her hand. "Come on, let's go."
"Huh? Now?" There was a mix of excitement and wariness in his eyes. "Shouldn't we—"
"Think of it as a thank you for giving me intel on Raymond."
"Don't remind me of my transgression." Haruto took her hand and stood with a groan. "And I don't remember being this adventurous when I was a cupid."
"Stop already. You sound like a tired old man," Ada said with a smirk. "Ready?"
"I—"
With one flap of her wings, Ada shot through the roof with Haruto in tow.
***
"I wanted to thank you," Raymond said across from Genevieve. After dinner, she suggested a game of chess, giving him a chance to escape his paparazzi duties if he wins.
"For?" Genevieve asked, a small frown forming on her brow as she stared at the chessboard between them.
Seated on the carpeted floor with legging-clad legs folded monk style and hair held in a top knot, Genevieve's focus on the game was absolute. The case was different for Raymond. He was soundly distracted by the way she worried the corner of her lower lip now and then, and her intense focus on the game was... cute. So far, she had eviscerated him with two wins and zero losses, and even though he saw his third loss coming, he welcomed it.
"For the trip."
A sly smile curved her lips as she slid her attention to his face. "Why not trips?"
Raymond chuckled. "You know why."
"Don't knock it before you try it, Ray," Genevieve said as she moved her knight piece and took a pawn. "Think of our next destination as a unique experience and a direct way you can help the displaced."
That was what Raymond found hard to understand. In the past days, save for the one-day break when he made her dessert, Genevieve had frequented the seaweed farm and coral restoration plant with boundless enthusiasm. The only reason he did not nope out of the two activities was because he respected the terms of her contract.
"I'd prefer giving funds than a hands-on experience. Secondly, our second trip is dangerous." Raymond worried Genevieve was ignoring the risk she was putting them in.
"I—" Genevieve huffed as she fiddled with the pawn she just took out. "There's another reason I'm determined to go to Borno."
Raymond moved his bishop piece. "I'm listening." And it better be a decent reason.
"I've known Chima since I was what? Six? We went to the same primary school and lived on the same estate until I turned fifteen. He was one of my... best friends. But he's a daredevil, and I strongly suspect he joined Doctors Without Borders for the thrill of imminent danger. The looney." Genevieve scowled. "Since he's posted to Borno for about five months, I felt I should see him before he vanishes."
Nope, it wasn't jealousy Raymond was feeling at the moment. No way. "I'm curious about one thing though."
"What?"
"The three options you gave me to choose from, what if I hadn't picked Borno?"
A wicked glint flashed in her eyes as she grinned. "Two out of the three options were Borno. We'd have simply gone to Borno if you picked it twice."
Raymond's jaw went slack.
"Don't look so shocked." Still grinning, she moved her knight piece once more. "Aaaand checkmate."
"Come on!" Raymond said with a groan. "Go easy with the blows."
"You make it too easy." Laughing, she clapped. "Too easy."
At that moment, she appeared so carefree and beautiful that the pull of longing Raymond felt was physical. Why was he hesitating?
"What are you thinking about?" Leaning against the couch, she cocked her head and blinked pretty eyes at him. "Your face had gone all broody. Is it because you lost or our next destination? If you're worried about the refugee camp, it's too late to back out. We leave tomorrow, remember?"
Raymond rested against the couch as well. "Nah, none of those." His mind went back to the conversation he had with Martins the other day.
"Then what?"
"My mum's getting married in two weeks."
"Huh?"
"Yep, that's what I said when I got the news. Didn't even know she was seeing someone, and she's fifty-seven."
"Awww." Genevieve pressed her hands to her chest, a look of awe brightening her face. "I like your mum already."
Chuckling, Raymond shook his head. That was such a Genevieve reaction. "It was unexpected, though." Her fiancé was one of her restaurant regulars and was smitten for years. Oh, and his mum was two years older. For some reason, he always assumed she would remain single.
"You didn't want her to get married?
"That's not up to me." Raymond was more concerned he hadn't spoken to her in months than her getting married. "It just sucks that her wedding is in two weeks. I'll be too busy to attend."
"I don't know." Genevieve twisted to her side and braced her elbow on the couch. They were much closer now; if he reached forward, he would be able to cradle the side of her face and lean in for a kiss. "If you ask me, I'd say go. What? Her wedding is one day but work stretches on forever."
"It's in London," Raymond mumbled as his attention roamed the slope of her neck before returning to her face. Focus, man.
"Don't pretend that's a problem."
She made it sound so simple. And maybe she was correct. The worst that could happen was his father going off on him with his favourite warning.
"Stay away too long and you'll have strangers plotting to take control of your blood and sweat."
Maybe he should consider leaving. Nah. Narcissistic father aside, Raymond liked it in Dominic and Dimes. And instead of dreading Genevieve returning to the company, he was excited—even eager. "I wonder what it'll be like?"
"What?"
"When we get back to Dominic and Dimes. Remember the Best Boss Ever mug you owe me?"
"Nah." Genevieve chuckled, the dimple at the top of her cheek winking at him. "You are fired. Leave before you're escorted out," she mimicked his words in a baritone. "Remember? You were a fire-breathing dragon. You don't deserve that mug."
Raymond groaned. "You wouldn't let me live that down, would you?"
"Never," she said with a laugh. "I should give you a shirt with those words printed on it. Wear it to work on your first day back, yeah?"
Raymond drank her in. It would be torture if she came back to Dominic and Dimes. In the past, she distracted him, now it would be worse, but he didn't mind. "Yes," he mumbled.
"Huh?" She stopped laughing and wiped a bead of tears off the corner of her eye. "No way. You'd do it?"
"Yes, let's date. Be my girlfriend."
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Yo! Apparently, Sunday seems to be the worst day to post on Wattpad, but I use my weekends to write so... here we are. *sigh*
Funny story. Years ago, I watched Coraline thinking it was a simple kids' animated movie... me after the movie:
Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.