They Fit
It can't be explained, but they do. Except when he's being him (self-focused, bragging, head-in-the-clouds, and generally oblivious to what is going on around him) and she's being her (taking life too seriously, not appreciating creativity, uptight, and over-analyzing every single thing); then they don't.
But when they do … it's magic (to be cliché), it's home, it's just right.
Others puzzle over their relationship and how they even click. She's an Ekaterina, scientific to the T while he's the creative and musically talented Janus. Their branches hate each other. They're supposed to hate each other. She's supposed to scoff at how stupid his music is (which she does, she has standards after all) and he's supposed to scoff at her complex inventions (which he does, he has a rep to think about). But secretly they admire each other for their differences, admire the drive the other possesses that propels them to be successful. They're Venus and Mars, but they wouldn't change a single thing—most of the time anyways.
—
She's intelligent enough to admit that he balances her out in ways that her other boyfriends never could. Those wimps couldn't handle her. But he always manages to get past her defenses and add vibrancy to her world.
"You gotta relax."
"Don't tell me to relax Jonah Wizard! Go back to your stupid Shakespeare stuff and let me figure this out."
She tries to shut him out after that command, but he keeps staring at her with those dark eyes. Finally, she sighs and turns to him.
"I'm sorry," she mumbles, knowing that he was only trying to help.
He smiles like he's already forgiven her (and somehow she knows that he had) and holds out his hand. "C'mon, you need a break."
"But—"
His eyes stop her; she hates it how he can always convey words through them without uttering a sound.
"Fine. But only five minutes and nothing crazy. I've got to figure this out."
Thirty minutes later, running down the sidewalk and laughing so hard her sides hurt, she forgets all about her 'terms'.
It's not until his hands come around her from behind to capture her wrists that she remembers. "W-wait, my simulator. I need-need to—
But his kiss on her cheek stops her from finishing. She hates how one tiny gesture like that gets her so off-track. She tries to speak again but once he adds a kiss to the corner of her mouth, well, her mind blanks out and she suddenly wonders what could have been so important.
Later she rolls her eyes over her then-flustered state and tries to analyze how she always gets that way around him. It's not logical. She's never ruled by her hormones.
But she comes to the conclusion that some things don't always have to have a scientific explanation attached to it.
Their entire relationship is like that and it drives her to the brink of insanity to attempt to figure it out. So she doesn't. She "goes with the flow" (his term, not hers) and wonders all the while if this will even work out. At some point, one of them has to snap.
Her family thinks she's crazy and reminds her of it often. Some members of her branch aren't even speaking to her right now. They tell her that dating a Janus doesn't make sense, that it's only a matter of time before he breaks it off with her, or she 'comes to her senses' and breaks it off with him. She mentally agrees with their analysis—it's what she would say in their shoes. But she doesn't voice it, the fact that her and Jonah breaking up is a very real possibility.
But all the while, she hopes that it never happens.
—
It's like taking two genres and trying to mush them together, he muses quite often—it's not supposed to work but sometimes it does. And then it's a beautiful thing. An art, something that can't be put into words, that can't be explained by the mere human vocabulary.
He hangs up the phone and closes his eyes, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. But how is he supposed to handle this pressure all of the time? His thoughts start piling up, overwhelming him. His music, his movies, his fans, his Janus duties, his strained relationship with his mom, the pressure he gets from his dad … it all whirls in his mind, clashing together, making him want to scream.
His phone rings again and he almost chunks it at the wall but looks down and is immediately glad he did so. A hint of a smile flickers across his face as he answers.
"Yo."
"Are you okay? I saw the headline."
He snorts because it's better than crying. "It's no biggie."
"You have every right to be upset. Are you sure you're fine?"
He means to tell her 'yes' and change the subject, but he hears himself spilling his guts, not only talking about the headline but everything. She's silent, letting him speak until he unloads the last bit.
"I don't know what to do Sinead. It's all hittin' me at once. Sometimes…" but he trails, not wanting to voice it.
"Sometimes what?" Her voice, gentle but firm, propels him to finish.
"Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. If I'm being stupid by throwing myself into this and am just in denial about my so-called 'talent'. I can't even keep it together yo."
There. That felt good.
But she only snickers. At first, he thinks she's laughing at him and feels humiliated. After all, she's the genius who never thinks about quitting and always seems to have it together. But then she speaks. He expects her to tell him to suck it up, to lecture him on his work-ethic (because they both know that it could be better). But she doesn't.
"You are one of the most talented individuals that I know. You manage to balance your career, your Cahill life, your personal life, and also handle all of the drama that your parents throw on you constantly. It's normal to feel frustrated and to doubt your path but don't ever doubt your talent, or the heart that exists beyond the talent. Your fans love you, not just because you're famous but at how you treat them and others around you. You care, you give your heart day in and day out. In short, you're amazing and don't you dare forget it."
He's amazed at the words spilling from her mouth and she must be too because she stops and releases a self-conscious laugh. "I sound like a self-help book. Just snap out of it, okay?"
He lets her change the subject after that but is secretly still glowing hours later. Not even his mother's off-hand remark about his failure to win the Clue hunt (one of her favorite go-to lines when she's upset) can bring him down.
Sinead is good for him in a way that can't be explained. Sure, she's sarcastic and makes fun of his music at times but he knows it's a front. Whenever he needs her she's there for him, and he can't say that about hardly anybody in the industry or even his own family. She's honest to a fault so her praise means so much more than anyone else's.
So when others in his branch joke about how opposite the two of them are, how their relationship is doomed and how he should find another Janus or fangirl instead, he smiles and ignores them.
Yeah, they aren't the ideal couple. Their personality differences are the causes of many fights between them. But she's the harmony to every song he sings, complementing him in ways that no one else has been able to. He doesn't expect anyone else to get that, to understand.
To him, they fit, and that is all that matters.
—
I hope you enjoyed reading! Present tense isn't my strong point but it was fun writing it. Also, did anyone notice the subtle references to a song? Haha tell me if you figure it out!
