Idiotic Tendencies

by FloraIrmaTylee

Iko thinks that Kinney's only redeeming quality is his attractiveness. Somehow, because she decides to hate him, the universe pushes them together. ("You're just stalking me," Iko decides.) Iko/Kinney, modern!au; oneshot.

So anyway, I love Kiko. Their ship name is sorta weird also word to the wise don't look it up on tumblr I saw something and now I'm scared to go back into the tag...it's also the name of that bunny from Winx Club? But forget that, I love Iko and Kinney so much. And then I saw an au list type thing where the prompt was "this guy crashed into my car and I was going to give him hell but oh no he's hot" so I added my own twist to it so that it became "this guy crashed into my car, oh no he's hot, I'm going to give him hell" from Iko's perspective obviously. Sorry if it's a little ooc! Kinney has no personality. Or backstory. I don't even know his sister's damn name like wtf, but anyway here's to hoping there's more of him in the graphic novel! I tried to make it interconnect and be meaningful and short but it turned out long, mildly sort of confusing? And maybe has too many names and random other plot points. But I digress.

This is just a oneshot because Iko and Kinney deserve happiness and they're cute together and I just want them to be together ok. This took me so long to write, also, I've been working at this and procrastinating doing actual work on my Kaider fic... Rated T for language and y'know a little bit of hinting towards doin' stuff. Not drugs tho. Stay safe kids don't do drugs

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Iko never intends to fuck up, but she does it anyway, and she does so quite brilliantly.

Though- in retrospect- her kitchen could have done without the culinary disaster that was currently all over the counter...

Huffing, and trying not to get flour in the braids pulled away from her face, Iko flips through a cookbook, leaving smudges on the shiny laminated pages.

"Two cups of milk, a teaspoon of vanilla extract..." Iko trails, reaching for the respective ingredients. "This is going to be easier, dessert always turns out the best- oh, fuck me!"

She's furiously rubbing spilled vanilla extract from her shirt material before her best friend, and roommate, walks in, very confused, with keys in her hand.

"What is this?" Cinder asks, after a pause. The keys dangle from her fingertips, and Iko zones in on those.

"Where are you going?" Iko inquires, interest acquired.

"Somewhere. What is this?" Cinder repeats her question and dodges Iko's. She then waves a hand in front of her face. "Is something burning?"

"No, nothing's burning, and everything's perfectly fine!" Iko rushes out. "Wow, don't you have to be somewhere? I think you should go. Before it gets later."

Cinder sighs. "What's this for?"

"Nothing. Can't I have a wonderful home-cooked meal?" Iko beams inconspicuously.

"...no, because you never cook, at all," Cinder deadpans. "If I recall, last week you said 'cooking was for grandmothers and stay-at-home moms'."

"But I never meant for my words to be taken out of context," Iko points out.

"First of all, there is no context for those words, you just want to feel like you're not lazy," Cinder says. "Seriously. What are you doing."

"I'm being a productive member of society!" Iko says, acting appalled. "In fact, I'm going to start cooking for us all the time. Maybe I want to become the next Goron Ramsey."

"You mean Gordon Ramsay?"

"Same thing."

Cinder crosses her arms, raising one eyebrow with suspicion. "Did you invite somebody over?"

"What? In our shared apartment? I'd never," Iko says, batting her eyelashes rapidly.

"Is it your ex-boyfriend Jerrico?"

"No!" Iko practically yells. "He and I are history. Finito. Completely over with."

"Good, because he was creepy as hell," Cinder says, "And he treated you like garbage."

"Yes, yes, I know, he was a piece of shit," Iko grumbles.

"As long as you're not getting back together with him." Cinder reaches over the counter to pick up a strawberry from the bowl Iko has, and after eating it, she makes a face. "Why is it so salty?"

"It can't be salty, I put a sugar glaze on it!" Iko grabs a strawberry, pops it into her face, and then she groans. "Oh, God."

"Please, do me a favor and stop pouring all the salt and sugar into plastic bags if you can't even label them," Cinder says.

"Now I need more strawberries!" Iko smacks her own forehead and leaves a flour palm-print behind.

"Just wash them off," Cinder suggests, "Now tell me who you invited over."

Iko pointedly looks at the ceiling as she says, "Thorne."

"Carswell Thorne?" Cinder's eyes widen.

Iko wordlessly nods.

"Iko," Cinder says, and then she rolls her eyes, "I'm saying this because I love you- please stop inviting Thorne over so that the two of you can get drunk and cry over Will Smith filmography. I don't even know how the two of you managed to cry through four episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

"They were sad episodes," Iko defends herself.

"It's a sitcom, Iko, it's literally never sad."

"...whatever. Besides, it's not just Thorne," Iko says, "He's bringing over his new girlfriend and I want to meet her, she wants to meet me, vice versa. So there's not even going to be any getting drunk, because- get this-" she lowers her voice dramatically- "She's completely sober. Doesn't even drink beer."

"And you volunteered to cook for them," Cinder quirks her lips into a little smirk.

"I have to become a functional adult sometime," Iko says. "Besides, I saw the cutest strawberry shortcake recipe on this cookbook we have and I wanted to try it out."

"We have a cookbook? Really?" Cinder asks, confused.

"Yeah, I know, I found it on my bookshelf underneath that ugly shirt I got last year for Christmas, which is probably why I haven't seen it in forever; heaven forbid I pick that thing up again."

"Why don't you just throw it away?" Cinder points out. "If you never even wear it..."

"It was still a present," Iko sticks her tongue out in Cinder's direction. "But forget about it. Will you help me? I was supposed to have a nice, three course meal for Thorne and his girlfriend."

"What is this, like meet the parents or something?" Cinder quips with a grin.

"Haha, you're really funny- anyway, Thorne just wants me to meet her so she can get my seal of approval," Iko says. "You could stay, too. Oooh, we could pretend to be Thorne's parents, he'd totally play along."

"Whatever happened to the notion of 'fully functioning adult'?"

"...you're no fun, Cinder."

There's a smirk on Cinder's face as she pats Iko's shoulder. "Please don't bother with this. Get takeout."

"Takeout? To meet Thorne's girlfriend?" Iko whines. "This is like his first ever, actual girlfriend!"

"What about Darla?" Cinder furrows her eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure she was a hooker."

"Iko!"

"What?" Iko innocently says. "It's not like it was a secret that she was easy."

"It's still rude," Cinder replies.

"Yeah, well, Darla was rude. She asked me if I wore a weave, and that bitch is lucky I didn't beat her ass."

"Please don't beat up anybody's ass, especially not those of Thorne's girlfriends," Cinder says, the humor evident in her voice. "And I'd stay to meet his new girlfriend, too, but I'm supposed to meet Winter at the airport."

"Ooh, Winter's visiting?" Iko claps her hands. "I want to pick her up too!"

"We're not going to have a freaking road trip to the airport," Cinder says. "Thorne and his girlfriend have plans with you that involve- this," she gestures to the messy counter, "And I'm just driving up because Winter needs help moving all her stuff. She and Jacin are bringing practically everything, and I'm going to put her couch on my truck."

"A road trip sounds fun!" Iko exclaims. "Please? It's barely one o' clock. We'd come home before it got late."

"You're supposed to have a nice dinner at home," Cinder reminds her.

"I can meet Thorne's girlfriend tomorrow! She was going to come over anyway, because Fridays are mine and Thorne's rom-com nights."

"Why do you watch romantic comedies with Thorne?" Cinder asks, pinching the bridge of her nose like she has a pain (which she does).

"Don't act like you've never watched Pride and Prejudice. It's a classic," Iko gripes.

"...anyway," Cinder says, "I haven't, by the way, but we can't do that. You're going to end up playing your dumb pop music on the radio and annoying me."

"I won't play pop music!" Iko promises.

It's been over an hour, and Iko's pop music is very, very loud.

Cinder's scowling and squinting at the road, cursing LA traffic under her breath. There are too many tourists, pedestrians, and cars. Iko, however, loves the sight of crowded places and people. She's glued to her window, marveling at the passerby and taking in the sights of the impossibly tall buildings.

"Can you turn that down?" Cinder hisses, practically running over a jaywalker and giving a loud honk.

Iko does without complaint, only because she's been turning the volume up as much as she can over the past hour just to see when Cinder would say something. It's another song she can do without, anyway.

"We should take Winter to Hollywood!" Iko's eyes light up. "Then we can see the Walk of Fame. Also we can spit on Donald Trump's star."

"We're not spitting on anybody's star."

"Why not?" Iko whines. "You don't like Donald Trump."

"I also don't like spitting in public," Cinder says. "Or Hollywood for the matter. We're picking up Winter's couch. That's it."

"She bought a house near our apartment?" Iko asks with interest.

"Like fifteen minutes away," Cinder says, forehead creasing in irritation as obscene crowds of people cross the street she's trying to turn into.

"That's so awesome," Iko says, and gives a dreamy sigh. "An actual celebrity living near us."

"Winter's hardly a celebrity," Cinder refutes. "She's, like, a B-list celebrity. With minor film roles and a lot of charity work."

"Yeah, but you're the one who said she was being looked for lead in that book to movie adaption," Iko says, "What was it called? Something to do with mountains. Or did it have to do with aliens?"

"I don't even know." Cinder's looking over her shoulder, trying to merge into another lane. "Just...do me a favor, Iko, and don't fangirl over her. She's just trying to leave without being noticed because she's got a schedule, too."

"Relax, I'll be a model fan, promise," Iko says. "No fangirling. I'll keep a respectable distance."

And she does...approximately two miles away.

Iko is grumbling behind the wheel of Cinder's truck, because apparently Winter's luggage had gotten lost and Cinder'd stayed behind to figure it out, tasking Iko with picking up the couch from a nearby furniture store.

"Leave me, driving alone," she mutters bitterly, sarcastically speaking her next words. "It's not like I offered to come here, to give away my precious time..." After a particularly disastrous left turn, she practically runs over the curb to get into the furniture store parking lot. In her haste, she doesn't notice the car in her blindspot.

And she manages to crash right into its side, causing the right side mirror to get crushed and the door to get dented inward.

"Fuck!" Iko cries out, stopping abruptly with a jerk. She's probably totaled the side of Cinder's truck, too, and the other car parks in the only available parking spot (jerk!).

Then the owner of the car gets out.

And he's really hot.

Like, hella hot.

He's stalking over to her car, which is now sorta parked in the middle of the street, with wavy hair and tan skin and goddamn he could give a celebrity like Chris Hemsworth a run for his money. His mouth opens, and Iko's so stuck in her dream-like state, she doesn't anticipate what'll come next, because she's smiling like an idiot.

"Who gave you a drivers license?" he snaps. "You ruined my car!"

Okay. Ouch. All fantasies with hot car driver gone, instantly.

"What the fuck were you doing going around my car?" she yells from her truck window, feeling at an advantage (because she's higher up. does wonders for self esteem to be taller than assholes). "There was only one turning lane, buddy! You were the one driving on the wrong side of the road!"

"You didn't have a damn turn signal on!"

"You don't know how to drive, apparently!"

Iko spots another car leaving the furniture store's parking lot and bursts away in Cinder's totaled truck to get into its parking spot, completely letting the roaring engine drown out hot-car-driver/asshole's next words.

To her dismay, he's followed her to where she's parking. And he's fuming mad, but hey, that's cool. Iko can play fuming mad.

"Fuck off," she bites out as soon as she hops out of the driver's seat, grabbing the keys tightly and locking it (and also trying not to freak out so much over the car's crushed parts?).

He blocks her path, the audacity of the asshole. "You're going to be paying for my car repairs," he says, snottily.

"You should be paying my car repairs!" Iko raises her voice and sidesteps the twit. "You rammed into me. Fuck. Off!"

"I did not ram into you, you rammed into me!" Asshole raises his voice, too. He's trailing her, adding some other bullshit about lawyers, insurance agencies, custom-ordered glass fees, not that Iko's listening, but she whirls around to face him anyway.

"Look, pal," Iko states, angry, sunglasses tangled in her braids and sweat covering her forehead, "I don't have time for this, and I'm not paying for your stupid car, so get that through your thick head. We can take this to court!"

"Good," Asshole says, eyebrows narrowed, "Because I'm pretty sure those gas station cameras can see that you clearly drove into my car."

Iko turns back around and enters the furniture store, only to notice Asshole is still following her.

"Get a life, creep," she calls over her shoulder and gets into line at customer service. To her annoyance, Asshole stands right behind her, but she pointedly looks straight ahead, crossing her arms. The nerve of some people, honestly- Iko was picking up a couch for a very important person, not that the asshole would understand. (also, she's stuck pondering how she can explain the car situation to Cinder. she could always sell her kidney to afford a new car).

"I can call the cops," Asshole states, with an air of superiority, and Iko's almost forgotten that he was there. Ugh, why did hot guys have to be shitty?

"Good, do that!" Iko shoots back and turns to face him. "It wasn't my fault if you were driving on the wrong side of the road! The security cameras can capture that, can't they?"

"If you were the one who crashed my car, then you're the one who'll get charged, won't you?" Asshole challenges.

Iko narrows her eyes. "I don't think you know who you're talking to, dickhead. I-"

"Iko!" a new voice chimes in. Iko looks over the asshole's shoulders to see Cinder, who has Winter and Jacin in tow.

Iko gives a sigh of relief. "Cinder!" she responds, jovially, throwing Asshole a dirty look and then focusing entirely on her friend. "I need to tell you something very important, also, please don't kill me because it wasn't my fault."

"I see you've met Liam," Winter says, serenely, giving Asshole a smile. "Liam Kinney, this is Iko. She's my cousin Cinder's best friend. Iko, Liam is part of my security personnel."

"Kinney," Liam corrects. "It's Kinney. I go by Kinney." He levels Iko with an icy glare. "I wouldn't say we've exactly met."

"He's the reason your car's crashed!" Iko tattles.

"She crashed into me," Kinney responds, like a brat.

"My car's crashed?" Cinder voices her confusion.

"It's just kind of- dented," Iko lies, "Also your mirror's broken, but he-" she glares at Kinney the asshole- "Is going to pay for it."

"You should be paying for my car damage," Kinney responds, curtly. "I'm not going to pay for something that wasn't my fault."

Cinder sighs. "Let's figure this out after the couch is moved onto my truck, please."

(they don't. Kinney and Iko argue for too long and Cinder gets a rental car after she puts the other in an auto repair shop)

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Winter invites them over to her new house instantly.

"It's like a housewarming party," she says, cheerily, over the phone. "Something small. To celebrate moving in."

Of course, Iko and Cinder go, with Cinder carrying a hideously ugly aloe vera plant under her arm- ("I don't see why we can't just bring some flowers," Iko had argued, but Cinder had refused to see reason, apparently).

Winter opens the door and invites them in, taking their coats, being gracious, while her boyfriend is busy taking the aloe vera plant with unhindered confusion.

"Isn't that a lovely plant, Jacin?" Winter prompts.

"Really...lovely," Jacin reluctantly agrees, taking care not to prick himself on the aloe vera.

"Kinney, Iko and Cinder are here!" Winter calls over her shoulder.

Kinney's standing attentively by the back door, and he looks over at Cinder and Iko in passing before he turns away.

"Don't mind him," Winter excuses Kinney's behavior. "I've told the studio before that I don't need security personnel, but Jacin insisted, you know how that is, and since Kinney is Jacin's friend he offered to relocate. Even if I've told Liam to enjoy himself, he treats this like a job all the same."

"He's securing the perimeter," Jacin responds, having since set down the plant to wrap an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "You know how that is, Trouble."

"Securing the perimeter," Iko repeats the words with interest. "That sounds like something out of a James Bond movie."

"Goodness, you find an overzealous photographer in your hedges one time and suddenly it's like I was in real danger," Winter says, but leans into Jacin's grip happily.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Jacin's smirk feels like an inside joke, and Cinder and Iko get the impression that they're third (fourth?) wheeling.

"Are these some of your friends, Winter?" Cinder asks to change the subject, looking at the small group of people milling around the living area.

"Most, yes," Winter lifts her head from where it's nestled into Jacin's neck. "There's my friend Scarlet, she's a darling, we've known each other for so long- she's also brought along her fiancé Wolf, he's a wonderful man, in the film business himself, you know, stunt doubling..."

"Stunt doubling?" Iko's attention is caught. "What movies has he been in? Has he met any hot, hunky actors? Are you friends with any single, hot hunky actors? Why is his name Wolf? Is that like a performance statement?"

"Iko," Cinder chides, trying to communicate to her that she's been asking too many questions, but Iko's too busy scoping out the males in the area to get the hint.

Winter laughs. "I'm not sure if you'd know the films he's been in, they're mainly indie action films; maybe you should ask him about his name...besides Wolf, he brought along his younger brother Ran, I haven't had the time to have a conversation with him yet, and there's some more security personnel, but they're not here for me, they're here for my stepmother."

"Oh, Levana's here?" Cinder groans.

"Ah, yes, she insisted on attending," Winter says, and she sounds apologetic. "I know she hasn't been the best aunt to you-"

"Try the worst-"

"But she's here!" Winter finishes. "I'm sorry. I only extended the invitation out of courtesy because I thought she would be busy, but she claimed to have dropped everything just to stop by."

"I guess I have to say hi to her, since we're related," Cinder grumbles.

"It's funny that you're more related to her than Winter is, but she never comes to visit you," Iko voices her thoughts aloud, as she always does.

"That's because I refuse to have any contact with the woman who thought that a 'good birthday present' meant plastic surgery appointments," Cinder says, sourly.

"I thought it was thoughtful. Plastic surgery is expensive," Iko points out.

"Yeah, but she wasn't doing it to be nice. She was basically offering to 'fix' me, and use that to her advantage while she pulled an Arnold Schwarzenegger and got into politics. I'm not interested in being her charity-case-success-story to let the press fawn over how she made the life of a disabled orphan so great."

"True- besides, your life wouldn't be better. You'd still be the same person you always were, just with actual limbs." Iko beams. Cinder doesn't.

"We could go together," Winter offers, holding out an arm for her step-cousin to take. Cinder accepts it gratefully. "Jacin, dear, would you see if the caterers have finished setting up the refreshments?"

"Of course," he says, and he gives Winter's forehead a quick kiss before he goes to do just that. Iko sighs at his retreating back.

"How sweet. When's the wedding?" she demands.

"No wedding!" Winter laughs, serenely. "Well, at least not yet. We've only just moved in together, I'm not sure if we're ready for marriage."

"Lucky you, some of us are still single and not even close to marriage," Iko says, pointedly. "Sure you don't know any hot actors?"

"We should go say hi to Levana before she gets into a tizzy," Cinder interjects (and throws Iko a glare).

Winter doesn't even bat an eye, she just keeps smiling. "Yes, we should. You know, the best out of all of us, how her temper is."

"You guys go. I'll go check out that refreshment table," Iko says, eyeing a buffet style row of appetizers, interest very piqued.

As promised, Iko delivers, taking care to enjoy the foie gras pâté, diced fruit platters, aged cheeses, mini versions of fancy sandwiches, and things she'd never have considered eating like stuffed olives and sushi rolls.

Kinney notices, apparently, the asshole.

"The point of appetizers is that they shouldn't be treated as meals," he says, snottily, as Iko currently has her mouth full of tiramisu tidbit.

She swallows and scowls. "That's none of your business, actually. Don't you have anything better to do, instead of being here, ruining my evening?"

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Kinney says, "But I'm not here for you." He reaches past her to pick up a bite-sized piece of calamari with a scowl.

"Is that good?" Iko asks, interested, forgetting that she's supposed to be perpetually angry at Kinney. "I've never tried it."

Kinney looks surprised, sort of, but he shrugs. "I think it's okay."

Iko's attention is then caught by a display of wine bottles on a table over. "There's booze?"

She's pouring herself a glass in an instant, happy to have found liquor to put into her system.

"Isn't three in the afternoon early to start drinking?" Kinney's eyebrows drawn together with distaste.

"Listen," Iko lowers the glass, haven just taken a large gulp of it, "This is a free country, fyi-"

"Wine isn't free." Kinney sounds amused.

"It's not on your dime," Iko responds, airily. "Anyway, I think I'll go- circulate. Meet Winter's artistic friends."

Iko sidesteps Kinney and takes a few steps toward the living room, where people are perched on the couch Cinder had delivered. To her annoyance, Kinney follows.

Iko turns around to throw Kinney a dirty look, to which he responds with a smirk.

"Ahem," Iko hisses, out of the corner of her mouth, "Stop following me."

"This is a free country, fyi." Kinney's smirk is still there.

Iko stalks away from Kinney with her head held high, and then pastes a bright, friendly smile on her face as she approaches Winter's friend Scarlet. "Hi!"

Scarlet, who'd just finished a phone call, looks at Iko with surprise. "Oh, hi."

"Winter told me all about you and your husband," Iko says, cheerfully. "I just wanted to introduce myself. Iko." She sticks out a hand.

"Nice to meet you," Scarlet says, genuinely meaning it. "I'm Scarlet, I guess you knew that. You're one of Winter's friends?"

"Not really, I'm her cousin's friend," Iko says. "Anyway, enough about me. I was won-"

"Kinney," Scarlet acknowledges Iko's companion, which makes Iko scowl.

Kinney's smirk is still infuriatingly there as he replies to Scarlet, giving Iko a wink, "Good to see you again, Benoit."

"Um, you know Kinney?" Iko asks, sweet as pie, but makes sure to frown at Kinney when Scarlet's not looking.

"Oh, yes, he's been Winter's guard since she got into acting, back when she met Jacin," Scarlet says. "How's your sister, Kinney?"

"She's doing well. Just started college, actually." Kinney is smiling, and he looks like an actual human being now that he's not acting condescending and/or asshole-ish.

Iko huffs, having been forgotten, but she listens to Kinney and Scarlet catch up, and it's kind of surprising to Iko that Kinney's...normal.

(he was still an asshole, though, that was important to bring attention to).

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Cinder has her face in a pillow when Iko walks into the apartment's kitchen.

"You can't do that in your bed?" she asks, around a mouthful of frozen yogurt.

Cinder turns her head to the side and opens one eye. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm upset."

"What are you upset over, then?" Iko scoops up another spoonful of yogurt, but then her eyes grow wide. "Did something bad happen? OMG, did someone die? Did Levana die? I mean, I know she looks young, but so does Madonna. How old is she, really? Sixty?"

"No, Levana isn't dead. Unfortunately."

Iko sits on the chair next to Cinder's. "What's up, then? Considering you had to haul a pillow into the kitchen and throw it on the table instead of just laying down on your bed."

Cinder sighs. "Promise you won't make a big deal out of it, or cajole me to go along."

"Promise," Iko says, "But it'd really help if I knew what I was promising about."

"Winter set me up on a blind date. For tonight."

Iko stops mid-swallow of her breakfast (frozen yogurt was acceptable breakfast food, practically). "Winter set you up on a date?"

"I know," Cinder groans. "That's the worst thing she's ever done. Actually, I never thought Winter could be evil, but apparently she is."

"Are you kidding me? That's the best thing she'd ever done!" Iko cries. "She's probably set you up with a hunky costar or a budding musician or some sort of artist genius- Cinder, you could start dating a man who can actually afford to take you out to dinner!"

"Except for the tiny snag in your plan where I don't want to date any of Winter's friends."

"Why not?" Iko shrilly demands. "If I recall, I'm the one who told Winter I was interested in dating any hot, single actors. And now she's setting you up with one? Possibly? I mean, Cinder, it doesn't get any better than that. The only guys you meet are the ones who bring in their cars to the repair shop and those guys are not boyfriend material."

Cinder avoids looking at Iko's eyes and instead holds out her hand. Iko deposits the half-eaten yogurt cup into it.

Exhaling noisily, Cinder sits up and starts eating the rest of Iko's breakfast. "I don't want to date, so I'm not going."

"What do you mean, you're not going?" Iko feels as if she could tear her braids out in frustration.

"I mean I'm not going. It's going to just be weird, going out with somebody I don't know, and Winter's going to be there with Jacin and that makes it even weirder because double dating is literally the awkwardest kind of dating." Cinder pokes around the yogurt cup. "What flavor is this, mint?"

"It's mango, how does that taste like mint? It's the color orange. Anyway, we're not talking about yogurt!" Iko catches herself before she gets off topic. "You have to go on this date, Cinder. What if he turns out to be your soulmate?"

"What if he turns out to be a creep?"

Iko huffs. "There's not a romantic bone in your body."

"For good reason, which is why I'm not going on this date." Cinder keeps on eating, nonchalant. "Besides, you promised there would be no cajoling and you're breaking that promise."

"But I didn't know you'd be going on a date!" Iko exclaims, and dreamily sighs. "I'd do anything to be in your shoes, you know that?"

Cinder visibly perks up at that. "Good idea! I'll send you instead of me, and then you can date Winter's friend. Problem solved."

"No, no problem solved, because Winter picked him out special for you and Winter's basically a relationship guru, so it would go against fate."

"How is Winter a relationship guru?"

"...she's in a committed relationship, so she has to know something about love."

Cinder drums her prosthetic fingers on the countertop, and they make little hollow thunking noises. "I'll go on this date if you go with me."

"No offense, Cinder, while some guys think two girls are kinky, I would not be down on sharing a man."

"No," Cinder rolls her eyes, "I'll call Winter and ask if she'll bring along another friend. For you."

"No fair, you can't bribe me with man candy!" Iko whines.

"But then it's a win-win, because you get a date and you successfully make me go on a date."

Iko pretends to ponder this by stroking imaginary whiskers, and takes on a fake, pained voice. "Well- I suppose- I have to do this for you, naturally. It's for the greater good."

"Oh, definitely," Cinder grins. "No ulterior motives behind your actions whatsoever."

"Exactly. I'm the definition of selflessness."

Cinder finishes Iko's yogurt and then picks up her pillow. "Don't take forever getting ready, okay?"

"Relax, Cinder. I never take 'forever' getting ready."

Iko takes forever getting ready, and they end up being late to the restaurant.

"It's eight-o-nine," Cinder says, grumpily, though she's less grumpy about arriving late and more grumpy about the dress Iko insisted she wear. Cinder's fingers tug on the hem to try to pull it down more, and she's scowling.

"Would you stop? You look sexy." Iko bats away Cinder's hands.

"Oh, yeah, my prosthetic leg looks really sexy." Sarcasm is Cinder's go-to defense mechanism, but Iko won't have it.

"Yes, it does. Now stop worrying. Any guy that doesn't like your prosthetics can go fuck himself."

Cinder unwillingly smiles. "Alright, I got it. No need for the colorful language."

"It's cold outside, come on." Iko pushes Cinder through the front door of the restaurant, and it's a very nice place. The hostess at the front is more than happy to let them right in after Cinder tells her the name of those who had reserved their table.

"This was a terrible idea," Cinder whispers, once they've started approaching a table where Winter is situated. At Winter's right, there's Jacin. On her left, there's a man Iko doesn't recognize, and he's very cute.

"Ooh, Cinder, I think that's your potential soulmate," Iko whispers back, batting her eyelashes.

"Shut up," Cinder hisses, but she manages to fake a smile once she's facing Winter. "Hi, Winter."

"Cinder! Iko!" Winter stands to greet them both with quick hugs. "How nice that you made it. Now, I want to introduce you both to a friend of mine, his name is Kai."

"Hey," Kai stands up, too, and he has dimples when he smiles and his hair is perfectly styled in a shiny black swoop, and it makes Iko swoon. He shakes Iko's hand first, and he doesn't even bat an eye when he's presented with Cinder's prosthetic one. In fact, he takes his time with shaking her hand, and he lingers on Cinder's mortifyingly red face for too long.

"That's Iko, and this is Cinder," Winter introduces them, respectively.

"Oh, uh, let me get that for you," Kai pulls out Cinder's chair, being a proper gentleman.

"Um, thanks." Cinder's face is still red, and Cinder hardly ever blushes. Iko's got a gloating grin on her own face, and she's so absorbed in Cinder's potential love life that she almost forgets that she's supposed to have her own date, too.

Almost.

"You remember Liam, don't you, Iko?" Winter prompts.

And then Kinney is there.

"Sorry I took so long," he excuses, seating himself next to Iko, "You know how my sister is when she calls."

"Ahem," Iko frowns at him, before anybody can acknowledge his apology, "I'm saving that seat."

Kinney raises one eyebrow. "For who, your imaginary boyfriend?"

"Oh, you're so funny- no, it's for my date. I'm sure Winter told you about it." Iko crosses her arms triumphantly.

Kinney groans. And then he runs a hand through his hair. "Jesus Christ."

"Liam is your date for the evening," Winter interjects, but not meanly, she's smiling serenely. "Didn't Cinder tell you? I assumed that the both of you already knew."

Iko's mouth falls open. "You can't be serious. I don't want to be on a date with Kinney!"

"This is not a date," Kinney agrees. "If I had known that she would be here, I would have stayed at home."

"Yeah, I bet you stay home every night, like the pathetic, horrible driver you are," Iko fires back, and she stubbornly picks up her menu, looking longingly over at Cinder and Kai, who are seated just next to her but seem to have hit it off, talking to each other and comparing menu entrees.

"You think my driving is horrible?" Kinney responds. "If anybody's a horrible driver, it's you-"

"Maybe we should order," Jacin suggests, before Iko can angrily retort.

"Excellent idea," Winter smiles at her boyfriend.

"I need a drink," Iko mutters, half to herself, and she's throughly riled. Great. Cinder had a hunky date, and she had Kinney. If Kinney didn't speak, maybe he'd be the equivalent of hunky, but he most definitely was not.

A waiter stops by to take their orders soon afterward, and Iko orders a wine bottle that she thinks sounds fancy and must certainly taste good, along with an order of salmon that is too expensive.

Kinney is staring at Iko once the waiter's gone, haven successfully taken everyone's orders.

"What?" Iko snaps, raising her eyebrows.

"Nothing," he says, "I just didn't have you pegged as a seafood type."

"What kind of type am I, then?" Iko asks, challenging him to guess.

"The type that doesn't know how to drive," Kinney answers, and he's grinning.

"You're lucky that we're in a public place," Iko says, growing agitated, wanting very badly to smack him but deciding not to do it.

His only response is that same grin, smug and upsettingly attractive, and it only adds fuel to Iko's fire.

By the time dinner is over (Iko had pointedly looked over at the other two couples and spent as much time conversing with Winter and Jacin as possible, but Kinney had not let up and integrated himself into the conversation as often as he could) Iko is definitely ready to leave.

"Wow, it's getting late, isn't it, Cinder?" Iko runs on once they're outside. "I think we should go. Catch a cab. Before it gets even later."

"Where are you going?" Kai asks (helping Cinder with her coat, what a man). "I can drop you two off. It wouldn't be any trouble."

"It's fine, you don't have to," Cinder says, avoiding looking Kai in the face. "I can just take a cab. But thanks, for-"

"Actually," Kinney interrupts, "I hope you don't mind, Cinder, but I was planning to drive Iko home. Unless that's a problem." His arm reaches over and wraps itself around Iko's waist. Iko bristles.

She gives him a nasty glare. "If you don't take your arm off me," Iko says, quite calmly, "I'm going to kick you in the balls."

"Then this works out," Kai says, unbeknownst to Iko's threat. "I can take Cinder, and Kinney will take Iko."

"There's really no need for that, we're both going to the same place, it's out of your way-" Cinder starts to protest, but Kai doesn't let her finish.

"Are you afraid of me?" Kai asks, amused, with the cutest, teasing smile on his lips.

"No," Cinder says, too quickly, and she's blushing again.

"Then let me take you home. Please?" Kai's not easily swayed by Cinder's reluctance.

"Great," Kinney answers before Cinder can. "Me and Iko are going to get going." His hand clamps on Iko's hip intently. Iko elbows him.

"I'm not going anywhere with-"

Kinney leads her to his car, at the edge of the restaurant, with Iko pushing him away as soon as they were out of eyesight.

"You're really dumb, you know that?" Kinney slides into the driver's seat without even opening Iko's door. (rude).

Iko makes a big show of climbing into the passenger seat and slamming his door, and not very nicely. "How am I dumb?"

"Kai wanted to spend more time with Cinder, and you were trying to meddle your way in between them." Kinney turns the key in the ignition, the car engine rumbling to life.

"I never meddle!" Iko exclaims, passionately. "It's not even that far from here to our house! Kai will probably have, like, five minutes with Cinder, tops."

Kinney looks at Iko once before he backs out of his parking spot. "You act like you've never been on a date before."

"Of course I've been on a date before!" Iko snaps. "I've been on lots of dates!"

"Great. Then you know about the cliché drop-the-girl-off-kiss-her-on-the-doorstep thing guys do." Kinney stops at a red light, but his gaze stays on the road. "I can tell Kai likes her, and Kai needs a new girlfriend. His last one was creepy."

Iko gasps. "Wait, does that mean that they're gonna kiss?"

"They could," Kinney says, offhandedly. "Where is your house, anyway?"

"Apartment," Iko corrects, "Turn left here."

Kinney merges into the next lane and does as asked. It's silent for another minute before Iko breaks the silence.

"Do you kiss girls on their doorsteps, Kinney?" she asks. "You don't seem like the considerate type."

"What type am I, then?" Kinney echoes Iko's earlier words, clearly entertained.

"The asshole type." Iko is proud at her response, and it even prompts a small laugh from Kinney. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Is this your way of flirting? Because I'm not going to kiss you on your doorstep."

"Eww, gross. No. I'm pretty sure I would actually kick you in the balls if you did. But I'm curious." Iko bounces in her seat, though the seatbelt hinders her movement. "Oh, keep going straight until the light. Then turn right."

Kinney slows before a stop sign. "To answer your question, I have done it before."

"Kissed a girl on her doorstep, or kissed a girl in general?"

"Both."

"Huh. I don't know what's more surprising, that you're a closet romantic, or that a girl actually kissed you."

"Oh, ha. You're so funny. I'm laughing."

But there's a genuine smile on his face. There's one on Iko's face, too, even if she turns to the window so that way he can't see it.

Kinney turns on the radio. A soft rock song croons through the speakers, and Iko doesn't recognize it, but it's calming. To her amusement, though, Kinney is singing along under his breath.

Iko points outside. "My apartment building is right here, through the gate."

Kinney stalls his whispered song in order to turn, but he almost runs over the curb, much to Iko's satisfaction, because her bias that he's a horrible driver is actually not far from the truth.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Kinney asks once he passes a parking lot.

"Keep going straight, turn right, it's the first apartment on your left," Iko says, "And I don't have a look on my face. I'm just marveling."

"Marveling," Kinney repeats.

"Yes. I'm marveling at the fact that you need driving lessons."

Kinney snorts, which should have been off-putting but surprisingly wasn't. "I'm not the one who doesn't use a turn signal."

"For the last time," Iko says, irritation stirring from its dormant state, "You shouldn't have been on the wrong side of the road."

"Here's your apartment." Kinney is about to turn the car to park, but Iko puts her hands over his and gives the wheel an impromptu lurch, making the car swerve. "What are you doing?!"

"Turn off your lights!" Iko instructs, bossily, and quickly pulls away her hands after noticing that they'd been actually touching Kinney.

"Alright, my lights are off," Kinney says, confused, but he ends up parking on the right side of the road, across from the apartment. "Any reason?"

Iko unbuckles and scoots over until she's practically straddling the stick shift. "Look, there's Kai and Cinder! They're getting to the door!"

"I don't want to watch them kiss," Kinney draws back, almost disgusted.

"Spoilsport. I do." Iko starts to climb over Kinney to get closer to the window.

"Hey!" Kinney protests.

"Relax," Iko says, though her knees are digging into Kinney's thighs and she ducks to see outside. "OMG, he's getting closer to her!"

"Did you seriously just say OMG?"

"I can't believe this!" Iko crows.

"Ugh, you weigh a ton-"

"He kissed her cheek!" Iko cries out, flailing her arms around. "Her cheek!"

"Would you watch it? You're going to end up hitting my-"

Iko's excited wrist ends up hitting the car horn, giving off a loud honk.

Iko gives a choked squeak. "They're looking over here!" She throws herself over Kinney's seated figure, ducking her head so that her tell-tale braids wouldn't be glimpsed. In the awkward pose, Iko is basically straddling Kinney's lap.

A long pause follows.

"Did Kai leave?" Iko asks, voice muffled by Kinney's shoulder.

"He's pulling away from the curb now."

Iko lifts her head, satisfied now that the two have gone. "Great." She tries to gracefully move out of Kinney's lap, but her foot gets stuck in his seatbelt, she kicks the ceiling with a high-heeled shoe, and her legs hit the steering wheel once she manages to clamber back over onto the passenger seat.

Kinney unbuckles his seatbelt at the same time that Iko opens the car door. "Hold on, let me walk you to the door."

"Is this your way of of flirting? Because I'm not going to kiss you on the doorstep." It's Iko's turn to echo his words, and she throws in a wink before she closes the door and goes on her merry way.

.

.

---

.

.

Iko gets a phone call, but it's not for her.

"Hello?" she asks, because she doesn't recognize the owner. Idly, she wonders if it's Kinney, but then the person speaks.

"Where is Cinder?" the voice of a woman asks, crystal clear but icy.

"Um- who are you? How do you know Cinder?" Iko asks, and because she's currently popping popcorn in the microwave, she can hardly hear the person talking.

"This is Levana. Levana Hayle-Blackburn."

"Oh, you're Cinder's aunt!" Iko says. "What do you need?"

"I need to speak to Cinder."

"Oh, uh-" Iko pops her head into the living room. Seated on the couch, Thorne and his girlfriend are talking quietly to each other while the end credits of Men in Black roll. Nearby, Cinder is grabbing empty ice-cream cone wrappers from where they're scattered over the coffee table. Iko beckons her over, and Cinder walks into the kitchen, eyebrows knit together in question.

"What is it?" Cinder asks, once she's nearby, and she tosses the wrappers into the trash can.

"It's your aunt." Iko holds out the phone.

Cinder's eyes grow wide, and she covers the mouthpiece of the phone. "Iko, I don't want to talk to her!"

"What? She's your aunt. Here. How does she have my phone number?" Iko wonders.

"I don't know- ugh, look, fine," Cinder takes the phone and sets it to her ear. "Hello." Then, with a dramatic eye roll, she walks into the next room.

The microwave beeps, and once Iko's deposited the popcorn into a bowl, she joins Thorne and his girlfriend (Crescent was her real name, her nickname was Cress, and she was utterly adorable, sorta shy, but super cool).

"What are we watching next?" Iko asks. "The Pursuit of Happyness or Hitch?"

Thorne grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves the entire thing in his mouth. "Whaffeber," he says, around the popped kernels.

"Charming," Cress giggles, pressing her cheek against Thorne's shoulder.

"You luff it," Thorne says before he swallows.

"You really lucked out, dating Carswell," Iko deadpans, but then she grins. "We're watching Hitch. I decided. And I'm going to make some cute mixed drinks."

"I'm a man. I can handle straight liquor," Thorne protests.

"Except you're not going to drink straight liquor," Cress says.

"Right. Except I'm not going to drink straight liquor," Thorne agrees.

"Whipped," Iko coughs out, throwing Thorne a beaming smile. "I'm going to make you a virgin margarita, Cress!"

"Thanks," Cress says, pleasantly. "Would you mind if I used the bathroom?"

"Of course not. Past the living room, on the left, don't mix it up with the laundry room," Iko grabs her favorite vodka and margarita mix, but before she can even grab glasses, the doorbell rings. "Cinder? You expecting anyone?" she yells over her shoulder.

Cinder doesn't respond.

"I'd get it, but I'm eating popcorn," Thorne says from the couch.

"Lazy," Iko sticks out her tongue, but goes to the door. Since she can't see who it is, she opens it with a flourish.

To her surprise, it's Liam Kinney.

"Hey," he says, raising one hand, but then thinks better of that and pockets both of his hands. "I didn't know if you'd be home."

"Are you stalking me, Liam?" Iko asks, squinting her eyes, only half-meaning it.

"Yes, I make it my life goal to stalk terrible drivers."

Iko can't help that she laughs at that (but she feels betrayed by her vocal cords. having fun with Kinney once does not equate a friendship). "Good. I make it my life goal to invite in terrible drivers, and then poison them with margaritas." She steps aside, and Kinney walks in. "Unless, of course. you don't drink, because I make a mean virgin margarita."

"I should just have one of those. I've got to drive, anyway," Kinney says, "I, uh, didn't intend to stay long, I just wanted to stop by to ask you something-"

"Alright, but let me at least poison your margarita before you ask so I don't have to be committed to any favors," Iko jokes. "What is it? Does Winter need something?"

"Yo, Iko!" Thorne's voice comes from the living room. "Who're you talking to? Is it the pizza guy? Did he bring the meat lovers with extra mushrooms?"

Kinney's grin freezes on his face. "I didn't know you had company."

"Oh, yeah, it's just my friend," Iko waves a hand, turns around, and yells, "It's not the pizza guy, Carswell! When he does come, you'd better get off your worthless butt and tip him!"

Thorne groans, loud enough to be heard from the doorway. "Don't you love me, Iko?"

"Not enough to tip the pizza guy." Iko bats her eyelashes at Thorne and then refocuses on Kinney with a grin.

Kinney looks into the living room, where Thorne is seated with his legs flung over the couch, cramming popcorn into his mouth as Hitch starts up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," Kinney says, and he seems almost- closed off. Not as baiting as usual. "I should- go, probably, I don't want to interrupt."

"You should stay," Iko presses. "We're watching Hitch. Ever seen it?"

"No- I don't think so," Kinney says, awkwardly. "Look, it's better if I just go. I have a lot of things I need to do, actually-"

"But I haven't poisoned you yet," Iko pokes Kinney's arm in a good-natured way, still playful. "At least have a drink. You still haven't asked me for that favor, and by the way, I intend for you to be indebted to me if I agree."

"I shouldn't."

"It's not a big deal, Liam-"

"It's Kinney," Kinney cuts her off. "Kinney."

"I know, alright?" Iko is confused at how distant he sounds, and she almost wishes they were arguing again. "I know you go by Kinney, alright? I know. I was just trying to have fun. Try it sometime, stick in the mud." She crosses her arms and scowls.

Kinney sighs. "Sorry. Sorry, I didn't mean-" he looks towards the door. "It doesn't matter. I'll see you...later."

He leaves, inexplicably. Iko stares after him, but the door closes.

Cress comes out of the bathroom soon afterward. "Did the movie start?" she asks.

"It's been on!" Thorne announces. "Did you get those drinks, Iko?"

Iko snaps out of her transfixed stare. "Oh- yeah. Let me go get them." She goes into the kitchen, thoughts muddled with what Kinney's unannounced visit can mean, but she doesn't ponder on her own problems for too long. Cinder's sitting at the kitchen table, with the strangest look on her face.

"It's so weird," Cinder says, finally, after Iko finishes mixing up the drinks. "It's so weird."

Iko hands Cinder a martini and Cinder downs it in less than a minute.

"What's weird?" Iko prompts, sitting next to Cinder. "And it better be good because I'm missing Hitch."

"You've seen Hitch at least twenty times."

"Not the point."

Cinder runs a finger over the rim of her martini glass. "You have to promise that you won't laugh."

"I promise, but promising doesn't work out well for me," Iko says. "Shoot away."

"Kai has an ex-girlfriend," Cinder responds, slowly.

"Don't we all," Iko nods in response and lifts her glass.

"No, it's worse- Kai's ex is...Levana."

Iko drops the glass and it falls over on the table, and she's gaping.

Cinder reaches for the glass that's supposed to be Thorne's and drinks that one, too, and Cinder hardly ever drinks, and that only makes Iko's mouth hang open more.

"Your new boyfriend," Iko says,

"Not my boyfriend-"

"Has an ex-girlfriend, and she's your aunt."

Cinder sets down her second martini. "Yes."

Iko does, admittedly, give a tiny laugh.

"You promised!" Cinder reminds her, pointedly giving Iko a shove so that she teeters on her seat.

"Okay, okay, but you can't blame me for that," Iko says. "I mean, you and Levana? Dating the same guy? Levana's a dinosaur!"

"Iko!"

"What? You know she's had work done, c'mon." Iko takes a drink from her own margarita. "Oops, I forgot, now I have to make a new one for Throne." She gets up to do that, but Cinder continues wallowing.

"Levana found out, apparently," Cinder says, upset. "She basically told me that they had been engaged at one point. It's creepy."

"Okay, that is weird," Iko agrees with Cinder's previous statement, still mixing another drink. "And speaking of weird, Kinney stopped by."

"Kinney?" Cinder draws her eyebrows together. "What did he want? I thought he was supposed to go with Winter to her filming location."

"Yeah, well, I don't know what he wanted. He came in, said he wanted to ask me something, but he left, even though I invited him to watch Hitch."

Cinder gives Iko an incredulous look. "He was trying to ask you out, Iko."

"As if," Iko scoffs. "I wouldn't date Kinney. I don't even want to be his friend."

"Then why were you invitng him to watch Hitch?" Cinder asks, knowingly.

"That doesn't mean anything," Iko defends her actions. "I was being civil. Not friendly. There's a difference."

"There is, is there?" Cinder grins.

"Yes, there is."

"I think he likes you," Cinder decides. "Why else would he want to drop by and ask you something? What did he even ask you?"

"He didn't ask me anything, which is the weird part." Iko grabs the drinks. "Let's go watch Hitch. Who needs a boyfriend when you have Will Smith?"

"That's the spirit," Cinder says, flatly, but she follows her best friend to the couch obligatorily and sits to watch the movie.

(Thorne and Iko end up drunk at the end of the movie, and they're both crying. it's embarrassing for Cinder and Cress to witness)

.

.

---

.

.

Thorne had taken up running, apparently, as he told Iko over the phone.

"But you're never active, Thorne. Remember last year, when I said that we should take up yoga together?" Iko is skeptical of his new hobby as she peers over her shoulder to make sure that nobody incriminating like her boss is nearby. "You told me, and I quote, 'sex is the only exercise I'll ever need'. And then you tried to kiss me because you got rejected by that bartender."

"Alright, yes, I said that, and I was being a douche, also I was drunk, but I've voluntarily taken up running," Thorne says. "Me and Cress thought it would be a fun couple activity."

"Listen to you, Mr. fun-couple-activity," Iko pokes fun at her smitten friend, and it's hard to not feel smug at the thought of the once-womanizing Carswell Thorne being in love. "Don't get all sappy on me now."

"I'm not sappy," he responds automatically. "Look, I just needed a new hobby that makes me seem more responsible in Cress's eyes."

"So you picked running." Iko twirls the phone cord around one finger, praying that her break wouldn't end, because talking to Throne about his relationship is so darn cute. "Is Cress the sporty type?"

"No, she's not," Thorne admits. "You know she's a software engineer. If it wasn't for me, she'd be glued to her computer."

"Aww, so then you're both trying new things together, that's so adorable," Iko gushes. Suddenly, her boss enters her line of vision, scowling and tapping at his wristwatch. "Damnit. My break's already ended."

"Come with us to the park later on?" Thorne suggests. "Me and Cress were making a day of it, you know, running, picnicking, flying a kite, all that jazz. You could come run with us after your shift."

"Are you sure I'm not third wheeling?" Iko asks, suspicious. "I love Cress, you know I do, she's the best girlfriend you've ever had, and she actually likes me and doesn't feel threatened by me, well at least she fakes it really well, so I don't want to be...meddling." And, for some reason, she thinks of Kinney and how he'd told her that she never understood when she was meddling.

"Naw, you wouldn't be. Cress was the one who suggested that you come. Besides, if it makes you feel weird, you can just leave after we run. No big deal."

"Alright," Iko says, cheerily, "But prepare to have me kick your ass at running, Carswell." Iko's boss reenters the break room and glares. "Gotta run. Text you later!"

"No personal calls," her boss barks once Iko hands up up.

"I understand, yes, but I took my break early to answer the call," Iko says innocently. "I'm going out front, I'll man the register!"

Iko places the employee standard hat on her head firmly, over her braids, and gives her coworker Émilie a cheeky grin.

"Was that Thorne who called?" Émilie giggled. "I didn't think you and he were getting together."

"Because we're not," Iko says, playfully. "I'll take register one?"

"All yours."

Iko stands behind the counter and is busy wiping down a counter, hears the sound of a bell that signifies that someone has entered, looks up with a smile, and faces...

Liam Kinney.

He's blinking in surprise. "You work here."

Iko has the decency to be nice to a potential customer (even if she's slightly upset at him for blowing off Hitch for no good reason). "Yes, I do. What can I get you?"

He takes a deep breath. "It's like I can't get away from you."

Okay, rude. "Ditto," Iko responds through gritted teeth. "What can I get you?"

Kinney looks over her head at the chalkboard listing the daily specials. "Give me a chilled green tea, black coffee, and an espresso; hold the milk."

Iko frowns. "We don't serve green tea chilled."

"But you can substitute hot water for ice water, can't you?" Kinney, as usual, shows complete disregard for rules. Like the rule of staying on the right side of the road.

"Look," Iko seethes, "Why don't you just get the green tea, and wait for it to cool down?"

"I don't have time for that. I need the tea chilled."

"We're not a convenience store, and we don't make custom orders," Iko says, her voice growing loud. "It's against policy to serve our teas cold."

"I don't understand why that is, considering it's not a health hazard, and tea diffuses in cold water just the same as it would in hot water."

"It's not that it's a health hazard, it's that custom orders are against policy rules," Iko snaps. "I can get you a black coffee, a milk-less espresso, and a hot green tea."

Kinney crosses his arms. "The green tea is for Winter. You know she doesn't like hot drinks, and it's eight-thirty in the morning. Her shoot starts in half an hour and she wants the caffeine."

"I can't make exceptions, alright?" Iko says, and her voice softens for only a second at the thought of Winter, who's totally awesome, and wishing that she could bend a rule. "I would, but I can't. Regardless of what you think, I'm not refusing because I want to."

Kinney resignedly sighs. "Get me the black coffee and the espresso and I'll make another stop for the tea instead."

"One black coffee and one espresso coming right up," Iko says, making sure she seems like the usual perky employee she always has been. "That'll be five eighty-three. Émilie?"

Émilie had been listening to the whole exchange and jumped at the mention of her name. "Of course, I'm on it."

Kinney hands over a ten-dollar bill. Iko gets his change, and gives it up, but Kinney then promptly drops the four dollar bills, seven pennies, and dime into the tip jar.

If Iko hadn't been so surprised, maybe she would have uttered a thank you, but she did not. Instead, she watches Kinney with a perplexed gaze, wondering why he'd do something nice, and also getting mad that he thinks four dollars and seventeen cents can make her feel better about their miscommunication. (if the previous movie night could count as miscommunication. also, no, Iko does not think that Kinney likes her).

Iko goes back to wiping down the countertop. If there had been any other potential customers, she would have been scouting them out, but it seemed as if there was not. Instead, Kinney was still standing there, and Iko would have made conversation if he wasn't intent on avoiding eye contact.

So Iko keeps wiping down the already clean countertop, acting as if it was very dirty and it needed all of her attention, praying that Émilie would come out quickly with the drinks.

Sure enough, she does, the lifesaver. "One black coffee and one espresso, no milk," Émilie says, giving Kinney a smile, and oddly enough, because Émilie is just so pretty, Iko doesn't want her to be smiling at Kinney like that.

Iko is ultimately the one who hands the drinks to Kinney. "Anything else I can get for you?"

Kinney looks at Émilie, and then back to Iko. "Not at the moment, no."

Iko doesn't bother in overanalyzing what he might mean, because she's already busy with relief over a balding man who's just entered, since it means that Kinney will no longer be her priority. "Have a nice day."

Kinney lingers for a second longer than necessary before he leaves. If Iko was a smidgen nicer, she suspects that he would've kept trying to make conversation.

Instead of focusing on that, Iko just gets the nice elderly man in front of her a simple doughnut and then she and Émilie are alone again.

"Did you know that cute man who came in?" Émilie asks, very interested. "That one with the dark hair and the tan skin?"

"We went on a date once," Iko says, rather than explaining that he was her best-friend's-cousin's-glorified-security-guard.

"You're dating him?" Émilie exclaims, full of glee. "Oh, Iko, that's wonderful! I'm ever so glad that you've stopped dating Jerrico."

Believe me, so am I," Iko says with a little laugh, "But it's not like that. I'm not dating Kinney."

"Not dating him? But he's gorgeous." Émilie fans her face dramatically. "I'll admit, I've been rooting for you and that hunk Thorne, but this Kinney fellow is much more compatible for you, I can tell."

"There's also the fact that Thorne didn't hang around the coffee shop for me, he hung around to flirt with you."

"There's that, too."

Iko grins. "Besides, Thorne's got the sweetest girlfriend now, and the three of us are going running in the park after my shift ends."

"He has a girlfriend? Oh, how wonderful! What's her name? How beautiful is she?" Émilie is invested in her friend's life, which Iko is grateful for, because she tells all, and it's enough to get her mind off Kinney.

At least, until Iko comes across him in the park, of all places.

She'd gone to her apartment to change into running clothes: a yellow sports bra, bright blue running shorts, and a pair of gray tennis shoes that were actually Cinder's. She's stretching next to Cress, as Cress is waiting patiently for Thorne to finish the ice cream sundae he'd gotten from the ice-cream truck.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spots him. Kinney. He's also in line at the ice-cream truck, and it's almost comical, the way he towers over the little kids gathered around the colorful vehicle. He doesn't look happy, either, he notices, but he doesn't even bother to look around and see Iko.

Well, Iko resolves, she wouldn't be the one to draw attention to herself. She has to keep hating Kinney in the principle of things. Not to mention she hates that he's everywhere she's been going lately.

"I don't see why you two didn't want ice cream," Thorne says around a mouthful of chocolate-covered banana. "It's great pre-workout snack."

"When you throw it up on the dirt, I'm going to laugh." Iko stands up straight, her braids pulled up into a high ponytail. "You should have done what me and Cress did, and had water instead."

"Why would I want water if I could have ice cream?" Thorne complains, and eats another spoonful of the melting treat, licking the spoon.

Cress and Iko only share an exasperated look.

"He's like a baby," Iko says. "And I'm relinquishing babysitting rights to you, Cress."

"I resent that," Thorne announces. "You're just jealous. You secretly want my ice cream."

"What if we get a head start?" Cress suggests to Iko.

"Hey, no! My girlfriend is not going to abandon me for you, Iko!" Thorne points his spoon at Iko.

"She likes me better," Iko sing-songs, linking arms with Cress.

"Take that back!"

It's Iko and Cress's giggling that finally catches Kinney's attention, and he abandons the ice-cream truck to come closer. Acting aloof, Iko pretends like she doesn't see him until he's nearby.

"I thought you were working," Kinney says, as means of a greeting, eyes flickering from Iko, then to Cress, and then to Thorne.

Iko lets go of Cress's arm to cross her own. "I finished my shift."

"Oh." Kinney looks at Iko's companions again.

"Do you need to annoy me at every living moment, Liam?" Iko asks, irritation seeping into her words.

"Hey, it's the guy who doesn't work at Pizza Hut," Thorne says, cheerfully, before Kinney can respond to Iko. "Is he your friend, Iko?"

Kinney is the first to answer. "No, we're not friends."

Iko seethes at that, because hello, she was the one who'd been willing to be his friend. Okay, maybe not, because as she'd explained to Cinder, civility and friendship were different, but Kinney had had no right to refuse margaritas and Hitch.

"Yeah, we're not friends." Iko throws Kinney a dirty look. "If anything, we're acquaintances."

Kinney doesn't seemed fazed. "Exactly."

"Imagine that. Small world," Thorne says. "Anyway, my name's Thorne." He sticks out a hand for Kinney to shake.

Kinney shakes it, but he keeps looking over at Iko.

"And this is my girlfriend Cress," Thorne says.

Kinney shakes Cress's hand next, as formal as it is. "Kinney. You're very familiar. Have we met?"

"I don't think so," Cress responds, honestly, but sort of sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Well, nice to meet you both." Kinney looks over at the thinning crowd of kids around the ice-cream truck. "I'd better go. I promised I wouldn't take a long time, because Winter's shooting an outdoor segment on the other end of the park."

"Are you her personal errand boy or something?" Iko asks, but it comes out more quizzical than teasing.

"No- but it's awkward enough to be somebody's security guard, and it's even worse when that somebody has a significant other. I'm constantly third wheeling, so I'm always offering to leave." Kinney raises his eyebrows, and then he looks towards Cress and Thorne, and then back to Iko. "In fact, can I buy you ice cream?"

"No, you cannot," Iko huffs. "Stop trying to be nice to me. Whatever you're doing, trying to psych me out, it's not going to work. I'm going to go run."

"Okay, well, what if I just steal you away for a few minutes, and you can run after that?"

Iko scowls. "No."

"I knew you'd agree." Kinney grabs her hand, and all but drags a reluctant Iko beside him to the ice-cream truck. "Thorne, Cress, why don't the both of you start? Iko will catch up."

"Hey!" Iko voices her discontent once he's successfully pulled her away. "What the fuck is your problem? You're interrupting my-"

"You're interrupting your friends's dating," Kinney responds, calmly. "Since it's obvious you were born without social cues-"

"Excuse you?! I was not-"

"-I figured another intervention was due." Kinney examines the ice cream choices listed.

"Intervention? Normal people don't talk like that," Iko bites out. "Besides, you can't take a hint! If I say no, then I mean no!"

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much? Because you do."

"They are my friends, not yours, and you can't be on first name basis with any of them!" Iko projects, childishly, having half a mind to step on his damn foot or call the cops or do anything to get away.

"Why not?" Kinney steps to the front of the ice cream truck, and he looks towards Iko. "Do you want anything?"

"No, I do not, I'm going to run!" Iko exclaims.

Kinney shrugs and steps out of line, while Iko turns to see that Thorne and Cress have, in fact, started running.

Iko gives Kinney a smack on the arm once he's started walking away from the ice cream truck. "Idiot."

"Why am I an idiot?" Kinney takes his abuse, unbothered.

"Because you're cutting into my exercise time," Iko says. "And you had no right to. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to run with my friends."

"It's still early. Can I buy you lunch?" Kinney asks.

Iko stares at him." I'm not going to have lunch with you."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to."

"You talk too much," Kinney reiterates, and he grabs Iko's arm to pull her along.

"I don't want lunch," Iko raises her voice, "And this is kidnapping!"

"It's not," Kinney calmly says. "I know a good burger place, do you feel like burgers?"

"No," Iko replies, stubbornly.

"Pad thai?"

"No!"

"Hot dogs?"

"Hot dogs are gross," Iko sullenly says, as she's pulled into step with Kinney's pace.

"Okay, how about tacos?" Kinney prompts.

"I already said I wasn't going to eat lunch with you." Iko pauses, but then her resolve breaks. "What kind of tacos?" she finally asks.

And that's how the two of them end up strolling through the park, both with taco-laden paper plates.

"What do you mean, you've never been to an actual park before?" Iko squints up at the sunny sky, the white clouds above their heads drifting slowly, just as the gentle breeze does. "That's like saying you've never been to... McDonalds."

"I think parks and McDonalds are very different."

"Oh, don't get technical. I'm serious, have you never been to a park?" Iko asks. She licks lime juice from her fingers and pops a piece of cilantro into her mouth.

"No, I haven't. I haven't had any time to," Kinney says. "I'm not a 'park' kind of person."

"Okay, but don't you have a younger sister? Wouldn't she like the park?" Iko, haven finished her own tacos, reaches into Kinney's plate and steals a pinch of meat, not that he bars her from doing so.

"She's not that much younger- and no, I never went to the park with her, but she's probably gone on her own time." Kinney hands over his plate without even giving it a second thought, but Iko wasn't one to overanalyze now that she had tacos that needed to be eaten.

"I just can't believe you haven't been to a park," Iko says around a mouthful of tortilla and meat. "It's like you're an alien now. An alien that doesn't know how to drive, which would actually explain a lot."

"I'm not an alien, trust me on that."

"I'm not so sure. Because somebody had to give you a driver's license, and I'd like to believe that it was not the DMV."

Kinney sticks his hands in his pockets, but there's a smile on his face. "Has anyone ever told you that you're annoying?"

"Has anyone ever told you that?" Iko counters, and she gives Kinney's arm a shove, albeit a playful one, surprising herself in the process. "Anyway. I just realized that you're still kidnapping me and it's late, so I should find Thorne and Cress."

"It's not that late," Kinney says. "I'm sure that your friends finished running. They're probably doing something else."

"Which is why I should catch up with them. Regardless of what you think, I was invited. I didn't try to meddle my way in, alright?" Iko stretches her back and yawns. "It's already pretty late. The sun's going to set soon."

Kinney is looking at her, and then he seems to notice her sporty attire. "Are you cold?"

"I wouldn't be if I'd gotten a chance to exercise." Iko ignores that she does, in fact, have goosebumps on her arms and instead rubs her shoulders. As they pass by a trashcan, she dumps the empty plates inside. "I think I'll just go home. I parked over there." She points towards a lot behind a playground.

Kinney doesn't pay attention to that. Instead, he pulls off his jacket in one fluid motion that makes his arm muscles ripple and no Iko hadn't been staring and then he hands it to her.

"Here. Put it on," he says, like that's enough, and when she's slow in responding he drapes it over her shoulders and her fingers close over the edges of it uncertainly.

"Thanks," she says, hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"Of course." Kinney's now only wearing a faded green t-shirt that boldly announces that he's been to Las Vegas, and it makes Iko giggle. Amused, his lips quirked, he gives Iko a sideways look from behind his messy hair. "Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing. That shirt." Iko hugs Kinney's jacket closer around her torso. "Why are you being like this?"

"Like what?"

"Nice." Iko leads them through a shortcut of sand underneath a deserted set of swings.

"I can't be nice?" Kinney raises his eyebrows.

"Of course not. You can't be nice. If you were nice, then I might start to like you or something." Iko takes a detour and hops onto the sidewalk ledge so that she stands a few inches above Kinney. Then, she notices, God, that Kinney's dark eyes are looking into her own and there's something so intense about his gaze even though he's looking up at her now.

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

Iko, flustered at his tone of voice, takes a step forward. Except she's forgotten about the ledge she's been standing on.

Pitching forward, Kinney's jacket slipping from her shoulders, she crashes right on top of Kinney and they both end up falling in the sand, Iko right on top of him in an uncomfortable position and fuck there was sand in her hair and he was groaning, or maybe laughing, and then she realizes that their noses are touching and his breath smells like citrus.

If they were any closer, they'd be kissing.

"You weigh a ton." Kinney's head falls back into the sand so that he's looking towards the sky.

"I do not!" Iko scrambles off of him in a hurry, ignoring her blushing red cheeks. "Besides, you should know that girls don't appreciate weight comments. Doesn't your sister tell you anything?"

"I've never cared enough to listen." Kinney gets up and gingerly dusts sand off his pants.

"And that's why you're still single." Iko lightly bumps into the chain handles of one of the swings and runs one hand over the rusted metal.

Kinney doesn't bother responding to that. Instead, he hands Iko his jacket again. "You should go home before your roommate gets worried. I need to find Winter and Jacin anyway."

Iko doesn't accept the jacket. "We're going to go in different directions. Besides, it's not that cold." Then, a pause follows, but she feels like she should say something. "So, bye."

"Alright, then. Bye." But then he smiles and God if Iko were not paying attention to her own screaming thoughts she would register how freakin' hot he really was and it made him ten times more attractive that he gave a little wave and...

...and Iko almost tangles herself in the swings in her carelessness.

.

.

---

.

.

Thorne had invited Iko to some party of Cress's coworker, and apparently, the crushing reality of being in a committed relationship weighed in, because he was now drinking nonstop while Cress had disappeared to discuss coding with a coworker.

Iko didn't mind, though. She was right there alongside him, sipping on a vodka tonic, her legs tossed up onto the coffee table.

Thorne, in turn, was very drunk, and was already saying stupider things than normal.

"Fuck, Iko," he whines, "I think I love her."

"Hmm." Iko drains the rest of her drink. "Where's the vodka?"

"What if I screw this up?" Thorne panics. "I'm going to screw this up. She's gonna know what a fuckwit I am-"

"Yeah, sure," Iko nods along, not really listening. "Where's the vodka?"

"Shit, I can't even stand up, Cress hates it when I drink..."

"I'm gonna look for the vodka!" Iko suggests, rather than offer any actual helpful advice. "Let's take shots!"

"And she's going to break up with me because I'm a dumbass..."

Iko stands, or more appropriately, staggers, away from the couch. "Argh, fuck."

She's having a hard enough time standing up and walking herself, but Thorne doesn't even notice; he's too busy ranting about how much he loves Cress to Iko's emptied spot.

If Iko hadn't been in such an inebriated state, she would have noticed that she was walking very slowly and about to fall face-first in her six inch heels, but naturally she did not. She thought that she was walking with grace as she practically pressed her face against the walls to aid her steps.

And, if she wasn't so drunk, maybe she would have noticed Cress coming out of the room, and maybe if she hadn't been slightly dozing, she would have felt Cress's arms encircle Iko's waist to prop her up.

"Where's Thorne?" Cress asks with concern.

Iko just smiles, and then she closes her eyes, falling forward. Cress grabs her tighter. "Let's take shots?"

"No, Iko, ah- " Cress looks around, widely, before she spots someone. "Kinney!"

Iko's eyes stay closed, and she sways in her spot. Y'know what's funny? I know someone named Kinney, but he's sort of an asshole. And he's really cute. Kinney's not even his name."

She registers that Cress's thin arms leave her, and that she's supported by a pair of muscled, toned arms, and her face leans against a rock hard chest that smells like lavender.

"Are you drunk?" This new person asks, the disgust evident in his voice, and Iko's eyes shoot open. She knows that voice, and especially the disgust the accompanies it.

"I'm not drunk!" she declares, with as much conviction as she can to Liam Kinney even though she is, in fact, drunk. "Damnit, why are you here?"

Kinney doesn't let go of her, even when Iko half-heartedly tries to slip away. "I was invited."

"You're just stalking me," Iko decides.

Kinney looks over her head to Cress. "Maybe I should take her home. Did she bring a car?"

"No- but I'll call Cinder," Cress offers, pulling out her cell phone. "She came with Thorne, though."

"Thorne!" Iko gasps. "We need to take shots!"

Cress grimaces as she dials Cinder's number, putting it to her ear. "Do you have your apartment key, Iko?"

"No," Iko says, and she seems to be deciphering her location, blinking rapidly like she's stepped into a light place. "Cinder can open the door."

"Cinder?" Cress asks, pressing the phone closer to her ear. "Hi, I was just wondering if you're home, Iko needs to get inside your apartment-"

Iko vaguely registers that her arms are squashed against Kinney's chest, trapped by his tight hold. Surprisingly, she doesn't mind so much, but she wonders how Thorne is. What would Cress think, to see her boyfriend plastered and ranting to a couch cushion?

Underneath her cheek, Iko can hear Kinney's heartbeat, and it pulsates rapidly as if he has an adrenaline rush. The steady beat lulls her eyes closed once more.

"Cinder's not at the apartment. There was an emergency at the auto shop, she can't get away." Cress looks apologetic as she pockets her phone. "We could ask Sybil if she could stay in the guest room, but I don't know if she'd like that..."

"I'll take Iko to my house. It's around the corner, and she can sleep there," Kinney suggests.

"Alright, if you're sure," Cress says, slowly. "You don't mind?"

"No."

Iko doesn't know how it happens, but she's in the passenger seat of Kinney's car again, dozing off against the cool window, seatbelt digging into her ribs and feet hurting from the heels.

By the time Kinney pulls in front of his house, Iko is barely responsive and grumbles angrily whenever he tries to wake her up (and he tries repeatedly).

Kinney huffs, shivering against the cold of the night, and looks up at the sky, finally admitting defeat if it means he'll get inside faster. "You've got to be kidding me."

He ends up carrying her, bridal style, as her hands reflexively grab onto his shirt and don't let go.

If Iko's eyes had been open, she would have seen that the small one-story house was desolate in terms of decor, and that the narrow hallway Kinney carried her down had only a few photographs of his smiling family.

She does open her eyes, though, once he sets her down on a bed, a bed that smells like lavender and has navy blue sheets. His face is impossibly close to hers, surprisingly, he's grumbling about how irresponsible she is, and suddenly...

Iko is kissing him, her arms thrown around his neck, pulling him onto the bed alongside her.

Kinney gives a muffled noise of alarm, surprised at the sudden turn of events, but Iko doesn't let up; she's not thinking clearly and he can most likely taste the vodka that she'd been drinking, but she likes kissing him, and doesn't think she wants to stop.

He kisses her back after a minute or so, and she can feel his reluctance and so she takes the time to tease him to biting his lower lip between her teeth and damnif his pupils don't dilate.

Boldly, Kinney's hand rests on Iko's waist. His fingers just dip under her shirt hem, but Iko allows it. His body cages hers until he's practically on top of her.

Iko allows that, too. Welcomes it, even. His torso is touching hers, and their legs are entangled, and she throws her left leg over Kinney's waist so that he's trapped against her hold, and he strokes the inside of her mouth with his tongue, and if Iko's head hadn't been overruled with hazy, lusty thoughts she would have considered that this was the man she was supposed to spend her time hating.

As it turned out, making out with him was a lot more fun than hating him.

"Iko," he groans, against her mouth, as Iko's needy actions leave him breathless, "We shouldn't."

Iko kisses him harder, and distracts him by detaching herself from his lips and trailing kisses along his jawline, pausing to run her fingers through the tousled waves of his hair.

Kinney, no longer thinking rationally, lets himself suck at Iko's throat and runs his hand over her bare thigh, seeing how the skirt she'd been wearing is now hitched up around her hips.

Iko sighs, tossing her head against the mattress, stretching out and enjoying the wet feel of Kinney's open-mouthed kisses on her flushed skin.

Somewhere in between kisses, Iko pulls off Kinney's shirt, and her own follows soon after.

"Are you sure-?" Kinney pants, having just pulled away from Iko's mouth, his hands uncertainly touching the bare skin of her stomach.

Iko locks her eyes on his, grabs his hands in her own, and lets him undo her bra clasp.

The rest of the night naturally becomes a blur.

.

.

---

.

.

Iko's head hurts really bad, but that much would be expected after she'd gotten drunk. Sunlight streams through drawn curtains to fall across her face, and she blinks, wondering why her blinds look so different, considering that her blinds are beige and not a dull green. It also smelled like musky lavender, and that scent triggers a memory in her mind, though she can't figure out what.

She starts to sit up, and she finds that she's very sore, which doesn't make sense, considering she hadn't done anything but drink...

And then she notices that there's a navy blue sheet covering her naked body, and she most definitely does not have navy sheets.

"Shit," she breathes out. "Shit, shit, shit."

She only has to turn her head a fraction to the side, and all of her worst fears are confirmed: she did, in fact, sleep with somebody, but it gets even worse when she sees his rippling abs and enticingly shaped pectorals and connects the dots to realize that they belong to Liam Kinney.

"Shiiiiiitttt," Iko groans.

Kinney is still asleep, his breathing even, but if Iko were to guess, then she'd assume that he was not wearing any clothing, either. When his eyes are closed, he looks...peaceful. And it basically reaffirmed Iko's previous thought that if he wasn't so insufferable he'd be attractive.

The mattress shifts under her weight as she stands up, but Kinney stays asleep, only muttering something under his breath.

She's fully naked now, because unless she wanted to wake up Kinney, she couldn't wrap herself up in a sheet, so she has to settle for her shirt, skirt, and ankle-pinching heels from last night to do the walk of shame.

Putting on last night's underwear had no appeal, but Iko resolved that it was for the greater good, so she begrudgingly pulls them up her legs and her skirt next.

Once she'd located her bra and her shirt, and put those heels on, she sneaks away as quietly as she can, glad that Kinney's floors were carpet so that her heels could not be heard.

As soon as she walks out the front door, though, Iko realizes she has no idea where she is, or how to get home. She most definitely did not have her phone, and the neighborhood was unfamiliar. Yes, she had zero shame, but she was still not going to walk around the streets in yesterday's clothes, seeing how the sun was too high up and normal people were already being productive.

Iko has no choice but to walk back inside, sit on a couch in a small living room stiffly like a guest, and wait for Kinney to wake up, but eventually, before a minute has even passed, she gets impatient. And if he'd have had a television in his living room, she would have turned it on, but he did not. So, she stands up and goes into his kitchen, seeing if she snoop around and maybe find cereal.

The kitchen is also small, but it has a stove and everything that doesn't look gross or unkempt, so she starts opening the cupboards to hopefully find a box of Corn Flakes but no such luck. He has actual food, for some reason, bags of flour and fancy jars of spices like coriander and himalayan sea salt, not to mention useless things she doesn't understand like cloves of garlic and baking powder.

"You know, if you wanted breakfast, you could have asked."

Iko slams the cabinet door shut, spooked, as she sees Kinney leaning besides the cupboards with an amused grin on his face. He's dressed, but barefoot, in a pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"You're going to give me a heart attack," Iko chastises, trying to avoid the fluttery feeling in her stomach, but she chalks that up to the surprise aspect of Kinney's entrance.

"That's the idea." And then he's stalking toward her, pulling her close to him, both hands on her waist, and he's kissing her.

His mouth tastes like mint, and it reminds Iko of how she hasn't brushed her own teeth yet, and she cringes, but obviously that didn't bother Kinney, because he kept right at it. Iko surprises herself by closing her eyes and kissing him back, but only for a split second before she breaks away because that, the action of kissing, that was not normal.

"I have to go home," Iko immediately pipes up, but Kinney's hands remain on her waist and she oddly wants them to stay there. "Cinder's probably worried."

"Cinder knows that you spent the night," Kinney says. "Can I make you breakfast?" He lets go of her to open up the cabinet again.

Cinder knows? The bitch.

"Cinder knows that I'm at your house," Iko reiterates.

"Yeah, don't you remember that Cress called her last night?" Kinney is already pulling things out of the cupboard and reaching for a bowl. He even has a God honest egg beater, which is surprising to Iko.

"Cress called her last night- why did Cinder let me stay at your house?" Iko asks. "Where was Cinder?"

"Auto shop. You don't remember?"

Iko frowns, because she doesn't even remember having freaking sex with Kinney either.

"Must've slipped my mind," Iko says, breezily, but she's still trying to connect the dots. "Um, are we going to talk about, uh, what happened...last night?"

Kinney doesn't respond to that question right off. "How do you take your eggs?"

Iko's put off at how invitingly nice he is. "Scrambled?"

"Great."

"But you didn't answer my question," Iko adds, while Kinney starts beating the eggs in a bowl.

"Do I need to? I figured that there isn't anything to discuss." Kinney has already started melting butter in a pan, so Iko finds herself hugging her sides self-consciously as he cooks.

"But there is," Iko says, slowly, "Because...I don't think this is going to work. Us, this whole thing- it's too weird. You work for Winter, and Cinder's my best friend, and she's Winter's cousin by marriage-"

"Or, you're just complicating the situation." Kinney is surprisingly quite calm. A hiss arises from the pan once he slides the egg mixture into it.

"Or," Iko says, "It's not that complicated, it's just- a lapse in judgement." As soon as those words leave her mouth, she almost regrets them, and she wishes that she could take them back.

It's silent save for the sound of a spatula scraping. "If that's what you think that was."

"It came out wrong," Iko starts, cringing, "But-"

"It's fine if you thought that it was a lapse in judgement." Kinney's voice is hard to decipher, but he sounds upset, or at least slightly hurt. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"And what does that mean?" Iko feels herself growing irritated, but not really at Kinney; she's more irritated at herself. "It's not like I knew what I was doing, okay? I was drunk!"

Kinney turns the burner off. He slides the egg onto a plate.

The silence is suffocatingly full of tension, and Iko hates that.

"You were drunk," he says, finally, back still turned, and he won't face her. "Alright. You were drunk. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you."

Iko takes a deep breath. "I don't remember anything- besides Thorne. He was talking to me about Cress, but the rest is sort of blurry." Then, her cheeks coloring, she asks, "Did we-?"

"Yeah, we did." Kinney avoids looking at her, but he does pick up the plate and put it on the table.

Iko feels something stir in her stomach at the thought of having sex with Kinney, and it's not an unpleasant something. "Oh." Then, her next thought is one of alarm. "But I'm not- did you use-?"

"Yes, we used a condom. Look," Kinney says, all in a rush, and then he actually looks straight at Iko, "You should eat. I'll drive you to your apartment."

"No," Iko says, before she can stop herself, averting her gaze. "No, you shouldn't. I can call Cinder, and she can pick me up."

"I have to head out anyway. I can still drop you off." And then Kinney hands her a fork, even though he's just been practically-almost-dumped.

"No," Iko repeats, the utensil in her hand feeling unnecessarily heavy. "I just don't think that would be a good idea. Because-"

"Because?" Kinney prompts.

"Because- you're a terrible driver." It's mainly said to cue laughter, and it works. Kinney lets out a small chuckle, and his hair falls above his eyes when he smiles. It makes the area around Iko's lungs feel constricted when she notices how cute he is.

"And I suppose the inability to use a turn signal doesn't make you a terrible driver."

"Of course not."

Kinney sobers up afterward, though. "We can just forget this ever happened. No one else has to know."

"Good idea," Iko is quick to agree. "No one has to know. It never happened."

(but, Iko being Iko, she does spill the beans, but it's mandatory according to best friend rules)

Iko'd just been dropped off at her apartment by Kinney, and he had been very subdued. Not snarky, not witty, just polite and reserved, which made Iko frustrated, because it was clear that he'd fallen for her, and she didn't return those feelings.

At least, she thought she didn't return those feelings.

"You slept with Liam Kinney," Cinder repeats, for the millionth time, to be clear that she's gotten it correct, even as she tinkers with some car engine, her hands encased in ugly work gloves splattered with grease.

"Yes." Freshly showered, wearing one of Cinder's t-shirts that has the auto shop logo on it, as well as a pair of shorts that may or may not have been Thorne's, Iko sits on the edge of the work table, swinging her legs around.

"Well, did you have fun?"

"This is not a time for sarcasm, Cinder! This is a national crisis!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize." Cinder's voice is still sarcastic, but there's jest in there as well. "Besides, it was just a matter of time."

"What do you mean, it was a matter of time?" Iko demands.

"I mean that everybody could feel the sexual tension."

"There has never been any sexual tension!"

"If you say so." Cinder is amused at the whole thing, but she doesn't even pause while she works on the engine.

"There wasn't," Iko snaps. "There never will be."

"Except you slept with him."

"Except I was drunk."

"Whatever you say." Cinder sets aside her engine. "Want me to drop you off at work? I've got to get going; the emergency from yesterday needs a routine checkup."

"Nah, I've got the day off. Anyway, what was the emergency?" Iko asks. "I mean, you've never gone so late to the shop."

"A guy's car broke down in the middle of the highway, and he needed to be somewhere the next morning. That's all." Cinder picks up her engine as an afterthought, to take it with her.

"So he came back to your shop? The highway's all across town. I'm surprised that he still caught you, considering you were supposed to leave early." Something doesn't add up in Cinder's story, and Iko squints her eyes.

"Yes, but then this came up, and I diligently worked until I had a satisfied customer. Like always." Cinder pats Iko's knee with her dirty glove. "Don't do anything irresponsible, like sleep with Kinney."

"Don't even joke about that, Cinder!"

Luckily, there are people who are more sympathetic to her woes.

(and, yes, she and Kinney had agreed that it'd never happened, but Iko figured that the best friend rule also applied to Thorne)

"What a dickhead," Thorne agrees with Iko, and she's very happy about that. The two of them are sitting in the semi-dark living room, The Pursuit of Happynessplaying on the television screen, a bowl of kettle corn between the two of them and mimosas on the coffee table. "I mean, he could've been more considerate and let you sleep before he stuck it in."

"Okay, don't be crude, because that's not what happened," Iko says, "But the point is, he's an asshole. He can't think that he gets to sleep with me just because I- um- just because I-"

"Because you basically let him?"

Iko slides in her seat and huffs. "You're right."

"Besides, if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one who fucked up. I threw up on Cress's coworker's couch, and I honest to God thought Cress was going to dump me, but she didn't. She just drove me home and helped me inside. Jesus Christ, Iko, I don't deserve her." Thorne has already started his own pity party, frowning at the mimosa he'd picked up.

"You don't," Iko says, "But she likes you, and I'm pretty sure she's deserving of you."

"You think?" Thorne frowns at the television screen. "I mean, I'm going to do some big romantic gesture though, like in all those horrible Nicholas Sparks movies she watches. I feel like she deserves that. I need to tell her how much I love her. Which is why I bought a guitar," Thorne splays his arm out and demonstrates a tan acoustic guitar leaning against the wall, a guitar that Iko had definitely not noticed. "Because I'm going to woo her back into my arms."

"...do you even listen to the stuff you say?"

"Most of the time, no."

"Thorne," Iko says, calmly, "You don't know how to play the guitar."

"Do you have to be such a buzzkill? I can learn. In a few hours. How hard is that?" Thorne picks up his phone. "In this day and age, we have the wonderful teaching tool of YouTube. I'll have you know that I'm great at learning."

"But you dropped out of college."

"That's not the point, Iko."

"Alright, fine...now, can we get back to being mad at Kinney?" Iko asks, feeling as if she'll never stop thinking about him. "Even if I let him, I wasn't thinking clearly. Let's acknowledge that."

"Yup. Mad at Kinney. Madder than hell at Kinney," Thorne says. "So, exactly, when can I stop being mad at Kinney? Because apparently, he knows Cress's coworker, and I didn't know that, and neither did Cress, so this is the second time we've seen Kinney since the park. It's weird since I have a link to you, and you have a link to Kinney, who has a link to Cress, who links back to me. Basically we're a circle."

"How does Cress's coworker know Kinney?!"

"Um, Cress works at some engineering place or whatever you call her work, and that same place does cyber security for Winter's stepmother, and Kinney's friends with those guys." Thorne finishes his mimosa and looks at Iko's. Iko snatches up her glass before he can drink it.

"This is a travesty," Iko decides. "You can't be friends with Kinney!"

"Why not?" Thorne asks. "Is he still an asshole to you? Is he a major dick all the time?"

Iko stops to think, but she can't actually come up with an answer that affirms his words. "Um."

"Ha, I knew it! The two of you bonded! Through sex!"

Iko hits Thorne in the face with a pillow. "We did not! And he's not an asshole, exactly, but that doesn't mean that we can be friends now!"

Thorne rubs his nose where he's gotten the brute of the impact. "I think that you're just being stubborn. It's pretty obvious that you like him."

"I don't," Iko quickly shoots down the idea. "It's not like we can date."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Iko trails, trying to think of a good enough reason. "Because...he never paid for the damages to Cinder's car."

Thorne gives a good honest guffaw, even though Iko hates how he sounds when he laughs like that. "I can't believe you. To be honest, I'm starting to think that you just don't want to admit that you like him. Out of stubbornness."

"Who made you the expert all of a sudden?" Iko demands. "In fact, I remember that you didn't keep Darla around for that long."

"Because you didn't like her," Thorne says, matter-of-factly. "And I didn't like either, basically. She was kind of annoying. Sort of monotone."

Iko huffs, changing the subject. "You'd think that anybody would be on my side here, and tell me to go off on Kinney, but no."

"Because I'm your bestest friend," Thorne grins, "And so is Cinder, we can see right through you even though you think Kinney is an asshole. Because he's actually not and because you like him."

Iko hits Thorne with the pillow again, because that's easier than dealing with her own feelings.

.

.

---

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Cinder leaves the apartment too early, so Iko has the place to herself; her shift at the coffee shop doesn't start until two, so she can pass the time sleeping in.

That is, until the doorbell rings.

Iko groans, but lifts herself up out of bed and throws on proper clothes, which just consists of a pair of Cinder's wrinkled jeans and a shirt that is quite possibly in need of a wash.

She opens the door looking like a halfway decent citizen, at least, and she's about to spout something about already belonging to a church (Jehovah's witnesses were terrifying) but then, she truly looks at who it is that's loitering in front of her apartment door, and it's Kinney.

Suddenly, Iko feels self conscious about her less-than-fabulous appearance.

"Kinney," she says, hand slipping away from the door handle. "Can I help you with something? Do you need to talk to Cinder? Are you here on Winter's behalf? Cinder's not here. She left for work. I know, work- does Winter need her?"

"...you're babbling." Kinney manages to finally get words in, even though Iko's rambling as a defense mechanism. "Can I come inside?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah." Iko opens the door wider, inviting him in, even though every radical part of her is screaming to refuse.

Kinney has his hands in his pockets, but he isn't looking at Iko. He's staring at a guitar that's currently in the corner of her room, courtesy of Thorne. "I didn't know you played."

"Because I don't," Iko says, explaining, "Thorne left that behind by accident."

"I didn't know he played, either," Kinney picks it up and runs his hands over the smooth wood.

"That's also because he doesn't," Iko clarifies. "He bought a guitar. He has the smart idea that serenading Cress will make him seem irresistible, and really, I don't think that guitar playing is as romantic as he makes it out to be."

"I play guitar," Kinney offers up. "A few chords, mainly. Never got around to playing it enough to master it, but, I used to have a band back in high school."

Iko can't help it that she laughs. "You," she smiles, "Were in a band."

"Yes, but like all high school bands, we were a shitty cover band. In fact, I can play a lot of Backstreet Boys songs. Needless to say, we weren't really good. And we broke up a year after we started because the lead singer tried to hook up with my sister and I punched him in the face."

"Sounds wild," Iko's eyes twinkle. She likes this, their banter. She likes having him around, try as she might to refute the idea. Honestly, if she were being honest, she'd say that she just likes him.

"Oh, it was." Kinney plucks a few strings absentmindedly, a melody lingering in the random string selection. Then, abruptly, he sets the guitar down. "Can we talk? And sit?"

Talking is exactly what Iko doesn't want to do, but she obliges. "Sure." She gestures to the couch, and then when they're sitting side by side, about a foot of space between them, Kinney talks.

"I know we said we would forget what happened that night," he says, choosing his words carefully, looking right into Iko's eyes even though she doesn't want him to be. "But I can't. I don't...do things like that. I've never just - you know -"

"If you're worried that you've damaged my virtue," Iko jokes, wryly, even though she isn't the best at humor, "You can't damage something I don't have."

"It's not that. I just can't sleep with someone like it's nothing. And, Iko I just - I like you. A lot," he finally finishes. He doesn't tear his eyes away from Iko's, and there's a strand of wavy hair that refuses to budge from right across her eyebrow and that, for some reason, makes Iko's throat hitch more than anything.

"You like me," Iko says, awkwardly.

"Yes," Kinney affirms. "I like you. I guess I thought you liked me too, then."

Iko bites her lower lip. Kinney is here, outright with his affections, but her own first instinct is to run and avoid reality, because she doesn't want to admit to him that she feels the same way.

Instead, she inches closer to him on the sofa. Places a hand on his cheek. Takes a deep breath. "Okay."

She kisses him next, albeit a bit hesitantly, maybe with just a tiny bit of desperation, and she's holding her breath, too. She doesn't deserve for him to respond, that much she expects.

But he does. With her eyes closed, she feels rather than sees his lips start moving against hers, and she audibly breathes out in relief.

She also feels him smile against her lips, and that is a surefire good sign. She starts giggling, in between kisses, but Kinney won't let her go and that's exactly what she wants.

"I like you, too," Iko manages to say, but that's all she can say before Kinney is kissing her again, shifting so that he pulls her closer and cradles her face in his palms and suddenly Iko feels rather than notices that she's stupidly and utterly falling for someone.

---

The bright light of Iko's illuminating, and borrowed, laptop makes Iko squint but then smile at how serious Kinney looks, provided that his curly hair is messy around his face and he's not wearing a shirt. Or pants, really. Besides, his clothing is much better on the floor. Or...hanging off her thin frame.

She seats herself right in his lap and bumps her legs against the bottom of her desktop, pushing his arm around her so that he can continue typing.

"Is that my shirt?" Kinney looks at her from the corner of his eye.

"Looks better on me." Smugly, Iko snuggles against her boyfriend (she loves that word) and gives his Adam's apple a ticklish kiss. Sure enough, he laughs and tries to dodge any further attack, not that she lets that happen. She keeps kissing his neck and tries to make him ticklish again.

"Stop," Kinney implores, and keeps his wrist locked down with his hands. "You're ruining my concentration."

"Concentrate on something else, then." Iko wiggles her hands free and unbuttons the top button of his shirt with a coy glance.

His eyes seem to grow darker. "Do I need to retaliate for you stealing my shirt?"

"I think you'd better come and get your shirt back," Iko says, hopping off of his lap and tossing her blue braids over her back so that the mess of blue ripples.

"Jacin's going to hate it when I don't have a security plan mapped out for Winter's press conference," Kinney warns.

Iko perches on the edge of the mattress and crosses her legs. "I guess this means I have to keep your shirt."

Kinney easily tackles her onto her bed, which feels obscenely small now that he's taking up most of the room, and she's giggling and trying not to be loud because there was the teensy detail of a shared apartment and also Cinder did not know that Kinney was presently in Iko's room.

"I'm going to need my shirt back," he says, as menacingly as possible (which isn't very menacing at all), but his fingers trail down her cheek to rest on the second button. Then, slowly, he undoes it. And goes to the next one. Iko waits with baited breath, chest heaving softly, a smirk on her face because she loves the fact that she's successfully distracted him from working again.

He's on the fifth button when Iko kisses him sweetly, fingers tangling in the dark strands of his hair and pulling him closer, threatening to do more than justdistract him from work and make him forget about it all together-

-until the very loud and mood-killing crash from outside successfully sounds.

Iko groans. "Great."

"Do you think Cinder fell down the stairs?"

"We don't have stairs!"

Iko pushes Kinney aside and then quietly opens the door to her bedroom, wincing as it creaks unnecessarily, but then once it's open she sees that the loud crash was not Cinder but rather their dead potted plant fallen off its shelf, shattered into crushed pottery and dried leaves.

And none other than Kai picking it up.

Iko gasps. "What are you doing here?!"

"Iko!" Kai exclaims. "I was, uh, I was just in the neighborhood and-"

"...and your shirt's on backwards," Iko notices.

Kai feels the tag at his throat. "Oh."

"Why are you awake?" A new voice, Cinder's, joins the conversation, and it sounds accusatory and unnecessarily harsh, though perhaps to save face. Cinder's dressed in faded-rainbow-printed pajama bottoms as well as a hideous grease-splattered bright green tank top, which doesn't make her 'harsh tone' sound even remotely mean, not when she looks so disheveled. "It's three in the morning!"

"Why is Kai here?" Iko challenges rather than answer, hands on hips.

Cinder pointedly avoids looking Iko in the eye. She isn't blushing, but she's rubbing at her forearm. "I needed an expert opinion on...an engine I've been working on."

"I didn't know Kai was an engine expert now." Iko grins, so euphoric at the idea that Cinder is in a relationship. Or that she'd at least taken the guy's shirt off. Either one was good.

Cinder finally looks Iko in the eye, undoubtably about to start refuting points, when she frowns. "What are you wearing?"

Iko glances down at the partially unbuttoned dress shirt she's sporting that hardly even touches her thighs. "It's...designer pajamas. In Milan. All over the runways," she fibs. "You totally wouldn't understand."

Cinder raises one eyebrow. "So designer, there's no pants."

"Because that's the style, Cinder."

Cinder opens her mouth, probably to continue arguing to even avoid explaining Kai's appearance, but she never makes it that far.

Because then a yell sounds from Iko's room.

Followed by a very loud and pointedly masculine exclamation of a cuss word.

Cinder's eyebrow raises again.

"It's not what you think," Iko automatically says. "That's my new alarm. Gets me up in the mornings."

"Really. It gets you up at three in the morning?" Cinder crosses her arms.

"Stop changing the subject, Cinder!" Iko exclaims, pressing herself against the closed doorframe of her room. "What's Kai actually doing here? I know he hasn't been checking your dang engine!"

"Okay, then, who's in your room?" Cinder challenges.

Iko looks at her wooden door. "No one."

"Then that means you wouldn't mind opening your door," Cinder smiles. Iko's eyes narrow.

"I'll open my door why you admit that you and Kai-" Iko then lowers her voice- "Got busy."

The potted plant remains Kai has been holding fall again as he grows flustered. Which is adorable and all.

(also, Cinder's totally blushing, which is a win-win)

Cinder also happens to be unfair and not play by rules. Because she barrels right into Iko's room without upholding her part of the bargain and fuck, did Kinneyreally have to be sprawled on the floor, wincing in pain instead of hidden away?

"Kinney," Cinder flatly greets Iko's impromptu guest. "Fancy seeing you here."

Kinney apologetically looks up at Iko. "Your nightstand is vicious."

Iko sighs. "Did you literally just fall right off my bed?"

"I got distracted," Kinney defends himself, "And your nightstand sort of got in the way."

"It's three in the morning," Cinder snaps. "How long has Kinney been here?"

"Um...definitely not since yesterday morning, because that would be...ridiculous," Iko finishes, batting her eyes innocently.

"Iko."

"Okay, since yesterday morning. But don't turn this on me!" Iko points at Kai, who's loitering in the doorway with the potted plant remains clutched in his hands. "How long has Kai been here for?"

"I should get going," Kai rushes out. "You know, before it gets later. You know how that is. Traffic and all. I'll, uh, replace your plant."

Cinder throws Iko a dirty look as she leaves the room as well, murmuring to Kai that a replacement plant was not necessary and Iko's pretty sure that she sees them kiss at least once, much to her chagrin. It's nice that Cinder is in a relationship. Even though her new boyfriend was her aunt's ex-boyfriend. Romances have started in weirder places at least, Iko decides, thinking of her own, and speaking of her own, she smirks at her boyfriend on the floor.

"You're still on the floor."

Kinney appreciatively grins. "I like the view from down here."

"Idiot," Iko chastises, but then she purposefully slides one sleeve of his shirt off her shoulder and devilishly smiles right back. "Are you sure that's the best view?"

As it turns out, he can stand faster than he can fall.

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FIN.