"I hear you're pushing the Eppes brothers' buttons," Millie said as she prepared two cups of coffee. Her mentee sat turning a rubric's cube in their hand, absentmindedly brushing at the random curl that kept falling right over their eyes. "I would truly appreciate you not doing that."
"To clarify, I am only pushing the older Eppes' buttons. Although I didn't realize how much you cared for those two, Millie. Is it because you're dating their dad?" Kai asked as they turned the cube around, studying the colors without trying to hide the smirk. The comment earned them a light smack on the back of the head. "Jesus, Millie. I'm getting close to forty and you're still treating me like I'm fourteen."
"Stop acting like you're fourteen, then," Millie replied before turning back and grabbing the cups, handing one to Kai.
Kai scowled before taking the cup, blowing on their coffee. "He started it."
"Way to prove your age there," she said with a snort of a laugh. The two sat in silence for a moment, sipping on their coffee. "How's your class going so far?" Millie asked finally.
"It's good. Charlie is a great professor. I'm retaining the information a lot better than I expected," Kai said while leaning back into the seat, resting one ankle over their knee. "I'm curious, though. You've told me about Dr. Eppes. Does that mean you've told him about me?"
"Well, Charlie never told me not to talk about him," Millie responded with a glance at Kai. "You have. So, no, I have never told him anything except that I vouch for you. Why you couldn't just sign up for the class, though, is beyond my understanding. I vouched for Charlie the same way I vouched for you."
"You know why," Kai said simply.
Millie felt silent for another pause, tapping her finger against the mug. "You know, they have resources. Especially the older Eppes. If you ever want help with –"
Kai shook their head and Millie cut herself off when she noticed the gesture. "There's no point. I've let all of that go, Millie. It was a long time ago anyway. Anything that might've been useful is long gone at this point. You better than anyone know the statistics in that. And while I believe in your faith in the Eppes, I don't know them from Adam," Kai said and stirred the spoon slowly. "Agent Eppes did a background check on me, you know."
"He what?"
They simply waved a hand in the air. "Relax. I knew it was coming the moment I laid eyes on the man. He's a condescending, self-absorbed control freak," Kai said as they put their leg down, pausing, and then crossed the other ankle over to the opposite knee. "Charlie insists he's a good guy, that he's simply going through something."
There was a hum before Millie took a sip of her tea, peeking at Kai over the rim of her cup. She knew her mentee for over two decades now, and was well aware when Kai was fishing for information. Millie always enjoyed calling them out on it. "Is that your way of asking about the older Eppes?"
"It's me explaining why his running a background check on me isn't bothersome," Kai said with an eye roll, but Millie pinpointed the familiar downward twitch at the corner of their mouth. Their little tell when they lied or gave half-truths.
"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to know about Don," Millie said with a cheeky grin. "The man's a looker."
"Yes, that's exactly the reason why," Kai replied sarcastically. "With my brilliant track record in relationships." Millie was about to take a drink of her coffee when she winced at the comment. "I'm surprised you and I remained acquaintances for this long."
Millie reached out her leg and tapped it against Kai's foot. "Acquaintances? Really? Get out of here with that," she joked.
Kai laughed and glanced up at Millie, studying their mentor. She'd done so much for them, never asking questions and never asking for anything in return. It was something that always baffled Kai. With so many students, there was no reason for Millie to pick them out from the crowds.
"You remember that first year? When you dragged me out for coffee after class?" Kai asked.
"I didn't drag you. I merely made the choice for you," Millie said with that same playful smile. "I remember, though. You were still going by Fuller at the time."
The mention of the surname caused Kai's muscles to stiffen. Snapshots of memories raced through their mind, threatening to overwhelm them. Kai forced themselves to inhale quietly, gripping the cup to feel its warmth. They lifted their eyes to look at the room around them, pretending to study the décor to discreetly ground themselves in the moment.
Kai was now much better at keeping their cards not just close to their chest, but out of sight altogether. Too bad for them, Millie was well 'acquainted' with Kai by this point to know the mention of their previous surname caused more than just an unpleasant feeling.
Her mentee certainly had grown though, Millie noted, and she felt a sudden surge of pride at her pupil. Kai used to be introverted, never speaking unless spoken to, and even then, only responding with the shortest answer possible. They took as little space as possible, drew no attention from anyone. Now, they were even facing down an FBI agent. For fun. Okay, maybe not all of it is good, Millie noted, stopping a smile from surfacing to her lips.
"I've always been curious as to why," Kai said finally and returned their attention to Millie. "There were thousands of students and you somehow picked me out, despite the fact I was flying very much under the radar."
"That's exactly the reason why I did it," she said easily. "People who try to keep their head down all the time have a reason, and it's usually not just to save themselves from answering questions from a professor. I've learned those people need a little extra support. And in your case, I was correct."
Kai couldn't help a scoff, even though they knew she was right. In fact, they had needed much more than just "a little" support. "Why go so far, though?" they continued pushing. "I mean," they lowered their voice here, aware at the undercurrent of shame and hating it. "You went as far as taking me in, based on nothing else but my word."
"I'm a good judge of character," Millie replied.
"Funny. I mentioned that to Charlie the first day we met," Kai said with a relaxed smile now. "He must truly respect you. He didn't really question me after I dropped your name."