From Case 1 when Abby drop-kicked Edamura, I saw them as a crack ship. By Case 3 when they were roaming though the city, I started to think that maybe something a little more than a friend-ship. I'm still not sure if I ship them, but I do like the thought of it. That being said, I thought it would be hilarious if they had a one-night stand or something.
One last thing, this takes place after case 2.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Great Pretender. It belongs to Hiro Kaburagi, Netflix, and any other of their partnered companies.
Even as he sat on the steps of the Villa with the sun setting on the sea, the orange-yellow tint of the water had his mind reeling back to their time in Singapore.
Edamura had a feeling that someone as cold but martially skilled as Abigail would have to pick up those skills from somewhere too dark and deep that he couldn't ask about without a good reason. Even as he was told parts of it and pieced the rest on his own, there was only so much he could say or do to offer comfort and keeping her from crossing a line that went beyond their "confidence man code". At most he thought his words and actions only stalled her enough for them to finish the job.
After taking a literal leap of faith and landing in Marina Bay, through tear-blurred eyes Edamura say something shift in Abigail. There had always a sort of hollowness to Abigail that was he thought was just a part of her "strictly business" demeanor. But floating on their backs after jumping to escape a life or death situation because of Laurent's withholding info yet again, in place of the usual scowl and deadpan tone of voice was a wide smile and a giggle that was so light he almost didn't hear it from the water lapping at his ears.
He didn't have much time to take in the rare sight as they were fished out of the Bay and high tailed it to the nearest airport to get back to Cynthia's villa to count and split their earnings. The last time he sat on these steps, he was wondering the best way to make up for his past as a con-artist and would be thinking of the same thing if that fleeting image of her smile wasn't so glued to his mind for some reason.
"Moping again, huh loser?"
He looked up toward the familiar deadpan voice approaching him to see Abigail with a couple of beers in hand. She tossed him one as she leaned against the railing.
"Anyone else in your situation would be celebrating with everyone else." She sighed as she cracked open her beer. "But here you are moping around like the lame virgin you are." She remarks as she takes a sip of her beer.
"First of all, the status of my V-card is none of your business and I don't know why you claim that I still have it. Second of all, you're out here too without a hint of joy either so what does that say about you?"
She gave a moment of pause that made Edamura think he may have said too much for a second.
"I'm just needed a minute."
Edamura noticed her fiddle with something in her other hand, a small green plastic ballerina.
"Take all the time you need. You know this sort of remind me of the time that Kudo and I-"
It was only meant to lift the heavy mood, but Edamura found himself telling one escapade after another and wasn't sure when to stop. He knew that they were far more mundane compared to the stunts she probably pulled with their team. Every now and then, he would glance toward Abigail direction and found her with an expression he was unfamiliar with as she looked into the distance. It wasn't her usual scowl, and it wasn't the rare smile like before, he would dare to call in a slight grin, but he wasn't sure why she would smile during his recanting. In the midst of trying to figure it out, he would slow down enough for her to look at him with a raise brow.
"Why are you slowing down?"
"N-nothing." He stumbled before continuing.
Between his ramblings, would nudge her to talk as well whether it was about what used to be her favorite dances or just how many fighting types she picked up. To both of their surprise, that minute turned in to 10 minutes, then 30 minutes, then an hour or two. Their beers long finished only for Cynthia to come over and give both of them a couple more cans. It wasn't long before they had enough to make a pyramid of cans and tried to see who could have the tallest one. At this point Cynthia had the others help bring them cases of beer for their little contest before losing interest and returning to their party. This of course resulted in them drinking even more to the point that they were feeling a little more buzzed than intended.
After declaring Abigail the winner, they both leaned back while sitting in the sand and found themselves gazing at the stars.
"The stars are beautiful tonight."
"Yeah, I guess." Abigail said with a shrug.
"You guess? I think you're the first person I met that's not amazed to see so any stars."
"Maybe amazing for a city boy like you, but I had to know the stars to navigate."
"Oh right. Do you still remember which one is which?"
"Yeah. Like that one is-"
Soon much like how Edamura was rambling off story after story, Abigail pointed out one constellation after another. In instances Edamura couldn't make them out and Abigail had to scooter closer to match his line of sight to where her wobbly hand was pointing. With the beer loosening their inhibitions, the two were almost shoulder to shoulder as their eyes started to droop and bodies sinking from their leaned back posture and into laying on the sand.
"Hey Abby, you're starting to doze off." Edamura tried to shake her awake. "Come on?! Don't make me have to drag you inside." He shook her again which only made her slump onto his shoulder.
Despite wanted nothing more than to just get up and go to his bunk, he knew leaving her in the sand is not only bad for her health after such a draining con… But that she would also beat his ass black and blue. He also thought she might still beat his ass for touching her as well, but after thinking about it a little more thought there was less of a chance with the lather. He grabbed her arms and hoisted her up bridal style, but the beers from earlier made him feel too top heavy. So he hoisted her up on his back instead, placed her arms around his neck, lifted her up by her legs, and made his way inside.
"Edamame! I didn't know you were giving piggy-back rides?!" Cynthia said a little flushed as she laid on the couch.
"I call next." Laurent called from his poker game with Kudo and Shi-won, with all of them also flushed.
"Shut up, Laurent. Where's Abby's bunk, Cynthia?" Edamura asked.
"Fifth door to the left" Cynthia pointed down the hall. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do~."
Edamura stumbled a little as he brought Abigail's bunk. He kicked the door open to find the small room not too different then they one he was given with the exception of a plush bunny perched on the lounge chair. He backed up to the edge of the bed and dropped her legs, but he didn't see that her arms were not only around his neck but locked in place. So, when she was dropped on the bed Edamura went with her. As soon as Edamura got his bearings he tried to pry her arms open enough for him to slip out, but her muscles seemed to be locked in place. He tried twisting in place in hope that the shift would help but is only made her shift closer & grip tighten on him.
So here was Edamura practically being spooned by Abigail. The sensation was not that different from the headlock she put him in during their first con, but this time he could at least breathe. With her arms loop around him the point that her fist rested on her cheek and him stuck with no escape, he took another minute to take in more of his surroundings. Since they were too far down the hall, he couldn't hear everyone in the living room so he couldn't call for help without waking Abigail. All he could hear was the water lapping at the shore and the steady breathe of her breathe. Her head tucked against his neck and the slightest shift would have had her lips against his neck as well. The feeling of that and the warmth of her pressed against his side made something stir in his chest. It was a feeling that seemed so juxtaposed, it exhilarating as if her was falling again but also calming like floating weightlessness of before.
This feeling combined with his mind still fuzzy from the beer earlier lulled him to sleep. Putting any worries of Abigail's reactions for the morning.
Surprisingly when Edamura woke up, he didn't have a knife pointed to his throat. There was nothing around his throat at all as he was alone. Just to be safe, he bolted out the room with hope that last night's awkwardness will never be brought up.
But of course, Edamura is never lucky and runs right into Abigail on his way to his room. And by run into, he was practically clotheslined as he tried to run pass her. Now slightly dazed and flat on his back with her towering over him, he had trouble trying to explain himself.
"So… About yesterday… You know I wasn't-"
"What about it?" Abigail said with a raised brow and Edamura slightly confused from the lack of her usual cold demeanor.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Abigail said as she scanned me before stopping at my face and looking away. "I'm no light-weight loser like you. And take a bath, you're tracking sand everywhere." She said and walked off.
"Wait, why the hell did you hit me?" Edamura called after her only to earn a shrug.
Confused but relieved that she didn't kick his ass, he got up to grab some fruit from the kitchen before going to take a shower. As he grabbed a couple of persimmons and cutting then up, Laurent walked in for his usual morning beer. Before he take a sip, he spied Edamura curiously before clapping him on the shoulder with a muffled chuckle.
"Nice Hickey! ~"
"WHAT?!" Edamura almost cut himself before checking his head and found a sensitive area on the side of his neck. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"I tried to warn you." Cynthia said with a grin as she snuck by them and grabbed a piece of persimmon. "Judging by that and seeing Abby's blush, you two had a good time last night? ~"
"I MEAN- BUT WE DIDN'T-"
"Don't worry. You don't have to tell me anything. Yet~" she chuckled and strolled off.
Edamura couldn't help from blubber and blush as he tried to recall last night's event and contemplated what it all meant.
"I got to get the hell out of here." He grumbled to himself.
Pfff! Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm sorry I couldn't deliver on that one-night stand that I suggested at the beginning, but I made no promises. Especially since I've never written any smut, lemons, or limes and I'm not sure how well it would turn out. I may come around to that in the future, but again no promises.
Let me know what you guys think with a comment. Constructive criticism is accepted, but no flames please. And don't be too shy to check out some of my other stories