AN: This is a short one-shot about how I think Brain Thief might become a thing. Sorry Cake shippers.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
They don't make sense, and, yet, they do, Eve observed. She is pure and kind and sweet; the best version of herself. He is corrupt and rude and mean; the worst version of himself. Maybe that's why they make sense; they balance each other out. He brings out the devious, sassy side of her that she didn't know existed. She brings out the sweet, caring side that he hides from the world. They shouldn't have ended up together, yet there isn't any other place they would rather be.
It started in the Labyrinth. No one except the two of knew exactly what happened down there, but he helped her somehow. All Cassandra said was: "He anchored her," whatever that meant. Jones just shrugged and walked away. But after the Labyrinth, anytime Cassandra was overwhelmed, Jones would offer her his hand or arm for her to hold on to. Afterwards, he would move on, act as if nothing changed, but in those moments when Cassandra held on to him, he was different. The casual observer might not notice, but Eve Baird has been reading people as long as she can remember. His entire stature would soften. He was gentle and kind, if only for a few minutes. You could see the pieces of good he had in him.
After awhile, though, things started changing between them. At first they hardly interacted with each other. Now, they were almost always together. Eve rolled her eyes as Jones hid another one of Cassandra belongings. It was a game they had started after Jones heard about what happened with the apple. He was very curious about the idea of a 'bad' Cassandra, and he was determined to get her to show that side more often. So, he would steal things, nothing special, just books and notes and pens, and would wait to see how long it would take her to figure out it was missing, find him, and then find the object. She would often get frustrated, but hadn't become devious, yet.
This time he had taken a book she was reading, Eve wasn't sure which one it was. All she knew was that all of this was going to come back to bite Jones in the butt. "You sure you want to do that to one of the brightest minds on the planet?" She asked as he walked away from the drawer where he hid the book.
"I've been doing it for weeks, and nothings happened. Besides, everyone living here has one of the brightest minds on the planet," he shrugged as he waited for Cassandra to realize her book was missing.
"Zeke! Where is my book?" Cassandra asked, looking directly at the thief as she walked in.
"Why, I have no idea what you are talking about, Cassie? I take it you've misplaced you book, again," He smirked, clearly enjoying the teasing. That was another thing she had noticed. She was the only one to call Zeke, and while Stone also called her Cassie on occasion, she reacted differently when he said it. She would blush lightly and look down. To Eve, it was obvious how she felt for him, what was less obvious was if he felt the same way.
"One of these days, I'm going to see you take something, and you are going to regret it," she said as she waved a finger at him.
"That's exactly what I'm waiting for," he smirked, invading her personal space, and trapping her against the table where he hid her book. It seems as though they had forgot Eve was in the room. She kept quiet, wanting to see how this played out.
"Is that so?" Cassandra asked as she bit her bottom lip, looking up at him. The height difference between them wasn't all that noticeable until they were standing right next to each other. Jones was a few inches taller than her, enough that when Cassandra was in flats, she had to look up at him. Like right now, as she was looking up at him with flecks of hope in her eyes.
"Absolutely." He leaned down a little bit more, and suddenly their lips were connected. It wasn't intense or passionate in the way most people have grown to accept. The intensity was in the way he was incredibly gentle and sweet with her, waiting for her permission, not just taking what he wanted like he usually did. The passion was in the way she was put her arms around his neck and played with the hair on the back of his head, things she is normally too timid to do.
They pulled apart after a minute, their foreheads resting against each others. "Was that what you were waiting for?" She asked, smirking.
"You hit the nail on the head," Jones replied with a matching smirk.
"That's good to know," she said as she pushed him back a little. "Now, where did you put my book?" They kept bickering like nothing had happened. Like the kiss was just meant to happen. And, in some ways, Eve figured it was. After all, it was just another thing for them to work into their balance.
They don't make sense, but they do. The game the play is a careful one. A balancing act. If either of them pushes too hard in one direction, it all comes tumbling down. But is a game they enjoy. They might not be perfect, and they may not be always make sense, but they worked. They always had everything in balance.