Casual reminder that I ship Iko/Kinney like hell and if I knew more about Kinney's mannerisms/actions/features I would write an Iko/Kinney centric fic, lol. So yes, in this chapter, I've put some Kinney in here. I mean, I know it's canon that Iko spots Kinney and then thinks he's hotter than Kai but I really love the idea that they'd have a love/hate relationship too, 'cause Iko getting agitated with Kinney in Winter was adorable. This chapter's pretty short, actually, and doesn't deal with much Kaider as I'd like, even on their first official semi "date". Ah, well, whose first dates end up as anything besides awkward, huh? Thanks to the people that sent in such lovely reviews, it means a lot when people take the time to comment on my fics and it means the world to me. This chapter's for you lovely people!

Actually putting effort into picking clothes is too time consuming, and honestly, Cinder doesn't understand how Iko does it.

Iko rifles through Cinder's closet, making faces at every shirt and pair of pants she gets her hands on. At one of Cinder's rattiest gray shirts, Iko gives up and tosses herself onto the mattress Cinder sleeps on.

"You own nothing sexy," Iko laments to the ceiling. "How are we supposed to marry you off to a hot actor like this?"

Cinder, who's seated on a folding chair at the corner of her small room, is rolling her eyes. "That's not the goal."

"Then what is?" Iko sits up and picks out a simple black t-shirt with hardly any stains, and then she glances at all of Cinder's pants, which were all baggy, faded and ripped. "Maybe you should put on a pair of my pants."

"They're not going to fit me," Cinder responds.

"And these do?" Iko fits her hand into a rip on a pair of jeans. "These haven't fit you since- ever. This is why you need to stop shopping at Goodwill."

"I can't afford a department store," Cinder points out.

"Well I can't either," Iko says, "But if you would just coupon and find sales for knockoff designer clothes, your butt would look much cuter."

Cinder takes a deep breath. "I'll borrow a pair of your pants. But nothing fancy. I'm still going to wear my gloves. And my boots."

"Cinder!" Iko whines. "Your gloves are gross. And your boots are so dirty, there's dirt on there from like, three years ago."

Cinder folds her gloved hands in her lap. "I'm not going to go without them. I've had enough of people judging me for my prosthetics."

"Ooh, ooh, wait!" Iko scrambles off the bed and runs into the hallway, yelling over her shoulder, "I saved this magazine clipping, very important, it says..." her voice trails off as she goes out of earshot.

Cinder looks at the shirt Iko has laid out for her, and her stomach gets butterflies. It's still weird to wrap her head around, putting an effort to look nice for a complete stranger. There's no denying that Kai Prince is attractive, and Cinder is attracted to his physical features, but knowing nothing about a millionaire makes Cinder nervous. For all she knows, he could be a pervert. Or a weirdo. Or a closet pedophile or something...

"Look look look!" Iko comes back into the room, holding out a faded piece of paper with flourish. Cinder doesn't get up, so Iko walks across the room to shove it into Cinder's face. "In a 2013 interview for his movie Rise of The Apocalypse, he was asked about the 'type' of women he liked, and he said that he liked all kinds of women, no matter their size, race, and he said, in a direct quote, 'I would date a disabled person, because they're still a person, not a disability'." Iko puts down the paper, looking at Cinder expectantly.

Cinder shrugs, because while it's a noble thing for a person to say, all she knows is that he's only been romantically linked to that beautiful Levana Lunar, who Cinder desperately tries not to think about and ends up thinking about all the time.

Iko gives a frustrated sigh. "How are you not falling in love already with this perfect human being? I've been in love with him for like years!"

Cinder fiddles with the end of one of her gloves. "It's easy for you to fall in love, you do it all the time."

"Duh," Iko tilts her head, and her bright blue braids fall over one shoulder in one fluid motion. "I think guys are hot. Girls are hot. You should appreciate hot people."

Cinder groans. "I don't like to only look at a person for their faces."

"I do," Iko says, "But then again, I think everyone's hot."

Cinder giggles, ready to use this to poke fun. "Even Kinney?"

Iko's eyes flash with fury at the thought of the laundromat owner that works on the same block as them. "Eww, not Kinney. Gross. He'll never be hot. He's the only exception."

Cinder laughs, and then she looks back at the shirt on the bed. "You know I don't trust people, Iko, and I'm- I'm nervous."

Iko thinks this over. "We could ask Wolf to go with you," she mulls. "Like, low-key follow you around like a stalker or something."

"Because that's not suspicious at all," Cinder says, crossing her arms. "A six foot tall guy covered in scars and muscles."

Iko bolts upright. "But what if he hides? Behind fake plants and stuff like in movies."

"He'd still stick out," Cinder says. "Besides, maybe I just shouldn't go. I could just work today, and not go. Kai wouldn't care."

"Yes, he would," Iko stubbornly refuses to let Cinder even discuss the possibility of not attending. "He's been coming to see you for like, weeks, so he'll mind."

Cinder's mind still lingers on Levana Lunar as she slowly states, "This could just be some sort of bet. A joke."

"Why do you have to be such a downer, and always expect the worst out of people?" Iko scowls at Cinder. "Maybe your stepmother is going to always be a bitch, and so's your stepsister, but not everyone wants to screw you over. Although," she waggles her eyebrows, "Maybe there'll be some screwing involved with Kai."

"No," Cinder deadpans, "There will be nothing even resembling screwing. You spend too much time with Thorne."

Iko shrugs. "He and I have similar opinions."

"Wherein the fact that you both have dirty minds, and flirt with everything," Cinder chides, but Iko waves a hand at her.

"He flirts a lot more than me, okay, first off, second of all, we're not talking about me, we're talking about your outfit, so let's get back to that," Iko goes to grab Cinder's t-shirt, and then goes for Cinder's arm to pull her up from the chair.

Cinder lets herself be lead to Iko's room, but she's not particularly excited thinking about her first shift that's upcoming. Iko is already setting out every pair of pants she's ever owned on her own bed, and Cinder sits at the edge of it to let Iko dictate, because Iko likes to be helpful in everything she does. Cinder figures that if Iko wasn't always busy doing something, especially helping other people, she'd go crazy. Cinder's fond of Iko's habit, anyway.

"This pair is simple," Iko holds out a pair of jeans that are fashionably faded. "They'll go with your boots. Even if your boots are hideous."

Cinder cracks a smile. "Good to know."

"They're my smallest pair," Iko says. "I know your hips are tiny and all, but they might still be a little big. I'll find you a belt."

"Thanks," Cinder meekly replies, her hands running over the smooth jean material. "For helping me, I mean. I still don't know what we should talk about or anything."

"Well, you've come to the right place, because I happen to be a Kai Prince expert," Iko says, coming back with a belt and a grin. "He has no siblings, no mother, and his dad's dying of leukemia."

"...aren't you all sunshine and happiness," Cinder trails. "God, Iko, now I feel bad, why would you tell me that?"

"So that way you avoid the whole awkward 'what do your parents do' conversation," Iko states primly. "Besides, you're an orphan with a controlling stepmother. I'm sure you have it worse."

"I don't have somebody I love dying!"

"True," Iko remarks, hand on her chin. "Best not mention the dad. Or his parents at all, actually. What you should do is talk about his hobbies. His interests. Stuff like that. He'll probably ask you something along those lines."

Cinder sighs, seeing how Iko is rocking back and forth on her heels like she has a juicy secret. "You know all his hobbies and interests, don't you."

"Of course I do!" Iko exclaims, but then she clamps a hand over her mouth. "I won't tell you them, though," she adds in a muffled voice, "So that way the conversation stays interesting."

"Thanks," Cinder replies (yes, sarcastically). She heads over to the outfit Iko's laid out, and she picks it up reluctantly. "We should get ready for work."

"Can I put some makeup on you?!" Iko gasps, clapping her hands.

"No."

It takes a while to avoid Iko's badgering, makeup-filled hands, but they eventually end up at the liquor store at the start of their shift. Cinder considers herself thankful that she only wears chapstick, at Iko's insistence, but otherwise her face is intact.

Iko sulks about it for a little bit while she stocks shelves, but she gets over it quickly.

Though the fact that Iko forgets about it is due to Wolf, who shows up to his shift with a black eye and bloody, sloppy stitches on one cheek.

Cinder hears a shrill scream from her post at the counter, and her first thought is that Iko is the one who's yelling like a five-year old girl, but then she catches sight of Thorne, who's come out of the storeroom just in time to anticipate Wolf's arrival.

Wolf sheepishly shrugs, with a small smile on the edge of his lips. "This isn't that bad."

"Did you get murdered?" Thorne screeches.

It's lucky that there's no customers at the moment, because Thorne is freaking out. Cinder stifles a laugh, but Iko lets her laughter ring out loud and clear.

"Ohmygod!" Iko cackles, smacking her own knee. "You should have seen your face, Thorne!"

Thorne backs up against the stocked shelves, tipping over a stack of cake mix. He tries to play it off, though, as nothing. "Whatever," he says, trying to be flippant, but then he slips and his elbow bangs on the now-messy shelf.

Wolf touches his cheek, and looks surprised when his fingertips come back stained with blood. "Huh."

Iko raises her eyebrows. "Did you go to the hospital? Did you get shot?"

Wolf uncomfortably glances over his shoulder to see that nobody's entered. "No, I wasn't shot."

Cinder leans forward on the cash register. "Maybe Wolf should work on unpacking boxes. Or manning security. Whatever- doesn't scare people away."

"Yeah. Go do that," Iko says, waving her hands, "Because when Kai comes, the last thing we need is for him to assume that our establishment is crime-ridden."

"It is, actually," Thorne pipes up. Iko glares at Thorne. He grins, rather cockily.

Wolf goes without an argument, hand over his bleeding cheek, but otherwise making no motion to suggest that he's been wounded.

"We have a first-aid kit in the back," Cinder tells Wolf as he's leaving, but he doesn't even respond to acknowledge that he'd heard her at all (nor did he give any indication that he'd put on a band-aid or anything at least).

"When's your boyfriend gettin' here, Cinder?" Thorne waggles his eyebrows.

Cinder rolls her eyes. "He's not my..."

"He's going to come here whenever he comes," Iko chimes in, with an obnoxious air. "Go clean something, Thorne."

"Rude," Thorne declares, and he doesn't even move anyway. Iko turns to Cinder then with a bright smile.

"We need to discuss conversation starters. Like, what's the first thing you're gonna say to Kai?" she asks. Cinder makes a face.

"I should probably say hi, first of all," Cinder points out.

"After the introductions and after he says all that 'nice to see you' stuff," Iko says. "Trust me. I know how guys work. He's probably going to say something like 'you look nice'. But it doesn't always mean that he means it, you get me? It's polite nowadays."

Thorne grows a perplexed expression. "Guys say that crap?" he complains. "If I think a girl doesn't look nice, I'd probably tell her to fix her hair or fix whatever shit makes her look like a mess."

"I can't believe a catch like you is still single," Cinder replies, very sarcastically, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"I know, right?" Thorne agrees.

"But knowing Kai, he'll mean it." Dreamily, Iko gives out a sigh. "Cinder, I feel like I could convulse on the spot if I get to even meet him."

"Then maybe you should try to date him." Cinder tugs at the gloves on her hands as she speaks, unwilling to look anybody in the eye.

"Don't be silly, that's what you're here for. I mean, destiny's going to point me in the direction of my soulmate soon. Watch," Iko gives a very Disney-Princess-esque twirl by the counter. "Someday my own Prince Charming is going to walk through that front door."

The front door clangs open with a harsh bang, and the three whirl around to face Liam Kinney, the laundromat owner.

"Here comes your Prince Charming," Thorne snickers.

Iko groans, looking at the ceiling. "Why?"

"Can we help you, Kinney?" Cinder asks, in as calm a voice as she can, even though she's nervous herself (not over Kinney, but over the looming fact that Kai Prince is supposed to meet her). (Also yes she's still thinking about it).

Kinney scowls. Directly at Iko. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with all of my dryers simultaneously bursting with bubbles."

Thorne snickers again.

Iko crosses her arms, eyes flashing fire. Normally, Iko gets along with everybody. But not with Liam Kinney. If Liam Kinney is involved, Iko seeks a fight. Every. Time.

"I had nothing to do with your stupid dryers and your dumb bubbles," Iko replies, icily, her voice growing louder. "Maybe it's because you're too idiotic to even notice when your dryers break!"

"Or maybe," Kinney's voice grows to match Iko's tone, "Maybe you went in and tampered with them! My back door lock is completely broken, and all of my security cameras are gone..."

"Maybe you're too FUCKING FULL OF YOURSELF TO EVEN PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT-"

"Okay," Cinder cuts in, reaching for a ranting Iko, slamming one greasy gloved hand over her mouth, even as Iko struggles. "I'm sorry, Kinney, but I think you should go."

Wolf chooses that exact moment to come into their vicinity, holding a bunch of Kinney's security cameras. "Are these included in inventory? There was nothing on the list about cameras."

"God damnit, Wolf," Thorne groans, slapping his own palm against his forehead. "I hid those for a reason!"

Wolf raises one skeptical eyebrow. "Yeah, you hid them behind the boxes I was supposed to throw out."

Iko yanks away Cinder's glove, ready to gloat to Kinney no doubt, before Kai walks into the door.

Cinder recognizes the dark hoodie and the sunglasses on his face, and then she tries to quickly look away like she hasn't noticed him and that she's instead looking at Iko and Kinney's newfound discussion.

"Accusing me, without any proof-" Iko rants with exaggerated hand gestures, just as Kinney's voice overlaps hers.

"You act as if previous discrepancies with my appliances had nothing to do with you..."

"That was one time, and your washer was going to break anyway-"

Cinder tries to look anywhere besides Kai's incoming figure, acting like she's very busy with the cash register.

"Wait a second," Thorne notices Kai first, rubbing his chin suspiciously. "Cinder, I think that guy is..."

"KAI PRINCE!" comes an overexcited yell that indicates Iko has caught on.

Kai jumps, the sunglasses he's wearing sliding on his nose.

Cinder facepalms and blushes simultaneously.

"Hi," Kai says, and then he takes off his sunglasses all at once, surveying the scene with interest. Wolf was holding too many cameras, Thorne was lazily lounging against the counter, and Iko had Kinney's arm in her clutch. As for Cinder, she was currently shrinking back and hoping that he wouldn't notice her. Of course, he did. Kai looked right over at Cinder with a wide smile.

"It's-it's..." Iko is speechless. Even Kinney looks mildly surprised. Wolf and Thorne both look to see Cinder's reaction.

"Hey," Cinder says. And then she makes it worse by awkwardly waving. God, could she be more pathetic?

Kai looks over at her coworkers (plus Kinney). "You're not busy, right?"

"She's definitely not busy!" Iko cuts in before Cinder can respond. "Her shift just ended, so you know, feel free to go wherever. Do whatever. Maybe you two could-"

"Thank you, Iko," Cinder interjects, giving her friend a grimace disguised as a thin smile.

"Well, would you look at that," Thorne marvels. "An actual, living, breathing celebrity in my midst. I can't say you're the first, though, my man."

Kai raises his eyebrows. "Huh. Who was the first?"

"It was this cannibal from the eleven o'clock news, he was in the solitary confinement ward, too-"

"Maybe we should leave!" Cinder bursts out before Thorne can continue the cannibal story.

"Oh. Yeah." Kai puts his sunglasses back on and then looks at Cinder. "Shall we?"

Iko gives a dreamy sigh. Loudly.

Cinder comes around from behind the counter, feeling very self-conscious about the way Iko's jeans fit, or the state of her gloves- even if she'd picked the less crappy-looking pair.

Before they can make it through the front door, Wolf gets closer to Kai and blocks his way in all his tall, muscly, scary glory.

"Have you ever considered running for office?" he asks, like it's a trick question.

"Let's go, wow, look at the time," Cinder gives Wolf's broad chest a shove so that he could move, and Kai trails her with a smile the whole time. Like the freak show he hadn't experienced wasn't completely mortifying to her.

"Well," Kai turns to Cinder once they're on the sidewalk, giving her a grin. "That was an interesting bunch of coworkers you have."

Cinder groans. "Please don't even talk about them. I'm still considering whether or not I should quit on account of what just happened."

Kai laughs. "It's not that they're bad people. I'll admit, I'm usually uncomfortable around people that think...well. I don't know how to word it without sounding like an asshole."

"Meaning?" Cinder lets Kai take the lead by walking across the street.

"I guess...people that seem starstruck? I'm not really comfortable with people that want to talk about my fame," Kai admits. "In all honesty, I don't like to think of myself as famous."

They came to a stop in front of Rieux Tavern, the bar and restaurant besides the mini-mart. Cinder had never gone to eat there before, and even at Iko's insistence that it was the man's job to pay for the first date, Cinder had brought along several of her hard-owned dollars because she hated feeling indebted to anybody. She'd already had enough of that with Adri.

Kai holds the door open for her. And he won't stop smiling. Cinder mutters a quick thank you as she ducks inside, seeing the bar occupied with a football match, and several tables littered around, mostly empty. Kai chooses one towards the back, where no one is sitting, and Cinder welcomes that gratefully.

Kai's back is to the crowd at the bar, probably in an effort to stay hidden, and Cinder looks toward an incoming waitress and past her that cute delivery girl Iko always tries to flirt with.

"Hello, my name is Émilie and I will be your server today," the waitress says, pleasantly. "What may I get the both of you?"

Cinder studies the menu, but doesn't make an impromptu choice. She knows she'll get something cheap, because she is poor after all, and she can't afford to give herself luxuries like going out.

"I'll have a burger," Kai says. "With a side of fries and a coke, please."

Cinder's heart skips a beat. He's polite and friendly and gives smiles like it's nothing. He's perfect. She shakes away the thoughts and then she studies the menu, willing herself to order anything that looks good.

"Burger, side of fries and a coke, what about you?" Émilie gives Cinder an inquisitive look.

"I'll just have a turkey sandwich," Cinder says, "With a water, thank you."

"I'll be right back with your orders," Émilie smiles at the two of them and leaves.

Once they're alone, Cinder struggles to keep eye contact with Kai (or at least, eye contact with his sunglasses) and it's making her very nervous. She knows nothing about bothering to keep a conversation, she's already bad at making friends because she's only ever had one. Except maybe for the new addition of both Thorne and Wolf, but they were not her best friends the way Iko is.

"So," Kai says. Cinder wishes that she could see his eyes when he talks, but instead she toys with the menu and looks down at that. (he's still smiling, too. That's unnerving). "I guess that we don't know that much about each other."

"Yeah," Cinder replies, and she struggles to come up with a sentence starter, something she'd never bothered to learn how to do. "We don't."

"Do you have any hobbies?" Kai asks, and he looks so interested, Cinder's heart keeps jumping with anxiety.

"Not really," she admits, which is actually true. "But, um, I do like to fix things. Electronics, mostly. I'm pretty good at that." That much was true- Cinder had a knack for fixing broken objects.

"That's cool," Kai responds, and he genuinely sounds like he means. "Are you, like, an engineering major or something?"

"Oh, no, I don't go to college," Cinder says, and then she stares at the table fixedly. "No time."

"I get that," Kai nods. "I've been trying to get an online degree, and I'm with you on having no time. I've been doing the work for three years and I'm barely getting past my pre-requisites."

Cinder tries to give a smile, but it falls flat. The topic of college, and money, with somebody who wouldn't have trouble with either of them is very awkward. Not to mention weird.

"But that's boring," Kai looks embarrassed. And then Cinder blushes to notice that he's blushing, too. He rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry. I'm pretty bad at this."

"At what?" Cinder asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Just...I don't know. I haven't been on an actual date in who knows how long..."

Cinder tries not to let herself freak out over his sentence. "Oh. I didn't realize this was an actual date."

If it's possible, Kai grows even redder. "I know you don't know much about me, and I don't know much about you...but I want to. If that didn't come out as creepy. Umm, well, maybe it's pushing it to assume that you'll want to hang out again, but there's an award show I have to go to in a few weeks. Maybe you'd like to come with me."

Cinder's past the point of blushing. She's overheating. "Uh- well, I'd have to think about it."

"I understand," Kai replies. "Yeah. I guess I can't just expect you to, um, be interested in me right off. I'm used to that." Alarmed, he looks up at Cinder. "Not to sound like I'm bragging, you know, but I'm-"

"Kai Prince," Cinder finishes for him, and she can't help it, her mouth quirks up into the tiniest of smiles.

"It does make me sound conceited," Kai ruefully laughs.

Cinder shakes her head, and this time, there's a full smile on her face. She repeats her earlier statement. "I'll think about it. The award show."