True to his word, the questions kept coming for well over an hour and so, too, did Cammy's answers. As far as he was concerned, she'd lived in London basically her entire life, growing up with an adoptive family in Richmond and graduating with a Bachelors in Sociology from King's College; she trained in gymnastics and dabbled in horseback riding growing up, and still hit the gym whenever she had a free hour or two. She was also quite fond of traveling, having been everywhere from Russia to Jamaica.

Most of this wasn't true, of course. It was one of many cover stories she'd crafted for herself, typically meant for more serious situations than this. She had to assume she'd sold it convincingly, considering Kostas hadn't questioned a single thing she'd said so far. Not that she was proud of that.

The logic behind her decision was sound. He was still essentially a stranger and if she'd just given him the truth as it was - about the nature of her job and especially of her origin - he would probably walk away from this thinking she was a complete lunatic. As odd as it was to treat a civilian almost like one of her targets, this was an unfortunate, but necessary precaution if she wanted this to lead anywhere.

But this didn't devolve into a one sided Q . As they talked, Cammy asked him about life in Cyprus, one place she never crossed off her bucket list, something he was more than happy to talk about. He also ended up telling her about his lifelong love for football, from the casual games he used to play after school to his current membership at Imperial College's football club. One thing she was surprised to learn was that he quite enjoyed games of chance, a discussion that somehow led to him teaching her how to shoot dice. At the same time she was telling him a story about a particularly memorable "client" she once had at work.

"So what ended up happening to her?" Kostas asked, watching as she retrieved the pair of dice that the cafe's greeter was kind enough to lend them.

"She moved back to Mexico. Last I heard, she ended up getting married to an old flame of hers. Apparently, he hadn't given up on her, even after all that time."

Cammy shifted the dice around with her fingers, softly smiling to herself to really sell the story to him. This one was mostly true, after all.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Kostas said. "I hope everything works out for them."

"I hope so, too. She deserves it."

There was a lot more that could've been said about this "client" of hers, but she wanted to keep things from turning too sentimental. Instead, she readied her dice, making sure that both of their 3s were facing up; after a moment's deliberation, put forward a five pound note as her opening bet. "Pass."

Her date similarly deliberated for a moment before making his own bet. "Crap," he said as he put forth a tenner. With that, he sat back and rather confidently eyed her, waiting for her next move. "Well? The cats aren't going to add to the pool."

"Cheeky, aren't we?" Cammy so desperately wanted to wipe that smug smirk off his face, and whether she'd be able to or not was entirely up to chance. "Fine."

With that, she cast the dice on the table. Once both of them came to a stop, she cast her eye to check what amount they'd landed on.

"Oh, bollocks to that!" She ended up rolling a two and a one for a total of three, meaning she has already lost the game, or as Kostas so eloquently put it, "crapped out".

"You know, my uncle once told me that you can't ever control the dice, so it's not worth getting mad at them," Kostas said for whatever reason. It was hard to tell if he was trying to make her feel better or if he was rubbing her face in her loss. The fact he was still smirking at her made her think it was more so the latter. "So, by that same principle, you shouldn't be mad at me."

Cammy scoffed. Genuinely scoffed. She could hardly believe the cheek on this boy.

"Again."

"What?" "Let's play again," she reiterated. "Or are you just going to run off with your winnings?"

"Cammy, this is just practice. I'm not actually going to take your money," he reminded her.

"And I think you're such a gentleman for that," she said half-seriously, half-snarky. "But that also means there's absolutely no stakes involved here. So why not play me again?"

For a moment, she succeeded in removing the smirk from his face, only for it to return in earnest soon after. "I got you hooked," he noted.

"That's what you were hoping for, wasn't it? Now roll."

They kept at this for at least another twenty minutes, continuing to exchange stories in between games. Kostas ended up winning most of them, but at some point, she started eking out a few wins of her own after she started taking the probability of rolling certain numbers into account. This hardly seemed to bother her date and good thing it didn't; there were few things Cammy couldn't stand more than a sore loser.

In any case, she could tell he was glad she'd taken to the game so well. He was right - he had her hooked.

They'd finished their food and drinks ages ago, every cat that could've possibly visited them had visited them, yet they just kept talking. As time went on, she could see that Kostas was becoming more and more comfortable with her, growing more and more daring as a result. A bit of teasing here, a subtle flirt there; just enough to keep their back and forth interesting.

But what really kept her engaged was how attentive he was. As promised, he'd come with no shortage of questions and she did her best to answer all of them, truthfully or otherwise. A part of her was tempted to be more open with him, but in the end, her rationality prevailed. What really mattered was that even if what she was telling him wasn't quite the truth, she could tell that his interest in her was genuine.

As vain as it might have been to admit, she found herself enjoying the attention he was giving her. Most people tended to be wary of her, perhaps even scared of her - he clearly wasn't. It was a refreshing change of pace.

"Say, I just realized. You're taking summer classes right now, aren't you?"

"Really? You only just realized?"

"For the sake of conversation, yes," she said, paying no mind to his obvious teasing. "I'm assuming you're crossing off your last handful of credits?"

"More or less," Kostas replied. "If everything goes to plan, I just have this and one more year left, then I'll be all done."

"My, how exciting. It might be a little early for congratulations, but…"

"I'll take it," he said before she even finished her sentence.

"I haven't given you any," she pointed out.

"You can. I don't mind."

For a good while, Cammy could only stare back at him as he sat there waiting for her to say something. He was just having fun with her, that much she could tell, but what truly surprised her was how…receptive she was to it. The bit was incredibly childish, but if nothing else, she appreciated the added levity.

"As I was saying, do you have any plans after graduation?"

"Any concrete plans? No," he answered. "But I do have an internship lined up in the spring. The hope right now is that that'll lead to something more official."

"Ah. Congrats on that." "Why, thank you," he not so graciously accepted. It took her a moment to realize exactly why.

"You must be real proud of yourself, hmm?" She was sure he caught on to her sarcasm, if his enduring smirk was anything to go by.

"A little," he admitted. "Though to be honest, I kind of got in through the back door."
"How so?" "My cousin works at the company that hired me, so as you'd expect, he pulled a couple of strings to move me along in the recruiting process."

As she digested this information, a small suspicion wormed its way into Cammy's head. The supposed nepotism wasn't that much of a concern for her - Kostas didn't seem too proud of it himself, but in a field as competitive as his, an advantage like that went a long way. But it just so happened that said field happened to be engineering and while there was no shortage of companies that were looking for someone with that skill set, only one came to mind.

"And what's the company called?" she asked him in the hopes of clearing up her suspicion.

"Oh, SiRN."

Just like that, her perception of everything he'd told her up until that point shifted dramatically. His cousin worked for SiRN? And he had enough influence to influence its management? If all that was true, and she had no reason to believe it wasn't, then just how did he get into that position? Just what did he have in mind for Kostas?

"Hey, are you okay?" she heard Kostas ask, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, I…there was a cat slinking around just behind you. Got a little distracted." He didn't seem convinced by her explanation, but he also must not have thought it was something worth pressing her on.

"Do you need me to repeat it?" "No, I think I heard you. You said SiRN, right?"

"Yep," he confirmed, which only served to make that sinking feeling in her stomach worse. "You've heard of it?"
"Very vaguely," she lied yet again. "What exactly do they do?"

"Well, they specialize in robotics - top of the line stuff, supposedly. They mostly produce stuff like drones, but they've got a handle on a lot of other industries. So, yeah, good resume material."

"I bet," she said, doing her best to avoid sounding bitter. "Hoping they'll keep you after the internship runs its course?"
"Depends on how it goes, I guess," he replied. "First, they need to think I'm worth keeping around, and then I need to think it's worth staying around. I'd like to think it's not my only option."

Now that was interesting. If she understood him correctly, he viewed all this as little more than a learning experience for him, even with his familial ties taken into account. Either he was completely ignorant of the company's true nature or he was fully aware of it and wanted nothing more to do with it. Both of those were welcome possibilities. Perhaps she could…

No. That wasn't fair to him. That wasn't what she was here for.

"In any case, I'm happy for you," she decided to say. "It sounds like a good opportunity."

"Thanks," was his simple reply.

For the next little while, the two of them sat there in silence. Kostas seemed unsure of what to say at this point, so he settled for a sweet little smile, one she couldn't help but return. He seemed so innocent, which made her currently conflicting feelings that much worse. If all of her suspicions were correct - about SiRN, about his cousin and about him - then she only saw things ending one way. They'd break him down, ensuring that all he'll ever be was another cog in their twisted machine.

It was all a bit much to take in, and Cammy quickly found herself feeling restless. "Would you like to go for a walk?" she asked her date, who she could see was growing concerned. Despite that, his answer was quick and simple.

"Sure."

…

Before they left, the two of them had a brief back-and-forth on how to handle their bill, which was to say they both insisted on paying it in full. Once it became clear neither of them were going to budge, they ended up going dutch on his suggestion; it really wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things, but if nothing else, he appreciated that him paying came down to choice and not necessity.

Once that was sorted, and once Cammy said goodbye to the cats they'd seen resting by the entrance, the two of them stepped out into the cool evening air. The sun was close to setting by the time the two of them left, which made for quite a pleasant view as they made their way over to the nearby Hyde Park for a short stroll. Given how close it was to his campus, he'd already been through it quite a few times, but exactly where he went wasn't really all that important at the moment. Just so long as they had somewhere to go.

As they walked, him and Cammy continued to chat about increasingly menial things, and even though they'd now been talking for a good two hours, he still didn't find himself growing bored. It was hard to describe, but Cammy was the most British person he'd ever met. She seemed to take that "stiff upper lip" thing to its utmost extreme, which lends itself to a whole lot of deadpan; it took a little getting used to, but it also made it fun to mess with her.

That said, there was just one slight concern he had. Since they'd left the cafe, she didn't seem as present as before. He couldn't say she was entirely disengaged, but every so often, it was like her mind was elsewhere.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked her well after they'd left the park. They were currently making their way to Cammy's bus stop where he intended to see her off, so this was more or less his last chance to pose this question.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just needed some air - the place was starting to feel a little stuffy."

"But other than that, you liked it?" "I did. Very charming spot, very pleasant company."

"You mean the cats, right?"

This question earned him a sidewards glare, as well as a soft smile as she turned her focus back to the path. "Not exclusively," was all she said.

This time, Kostas was a bit too flustered to reply, but in the end, he decided to just keep walking, smiling to himself as he exchanged small glances with her. He understood exactly what she meant to say with her first comment, but even so, having it spelt out for him was quite gratifying, as well as relieving. There was a small part of him that continued to worry the two of them wouldn't mesh well, but he'd never been more happy to be proven wrong.

"This was fun," he eventually said to get her attention again. "Thank you for choosing Glass's Cafe." He was rewarded with a quiet chuckle. He'd yet to make her fully laugh, but just this felt like a feat in itself.

"I didn't choose it," she reminded him. "But good thing a certain someone did."

"Yep." He felt like everything that could've been said about that certain someone had already been said. She was a real one.

"Got anything planned after this?" Kostas asked after a bit.

"I guess I'll just see what Juni and Decapre are up to when I get home," she said with a shrug. "After that, I have to do a few things I need to do for work."

"Nothing important, I hope."

"Could be," she said somewhat cryptically and as he couldn't help but notice, after a good pause.

"If it is, don't let me keep you."

"Keep me?" After repeating after her, Cammy stopped and turned to face him, prompting him to do the same. "You make it sound like I'm having my time wasted."

Yet again, Kostas found himself feeling unexpectedly awestruck. She didn't sound annoyed or judgmental; she was simply making an observation. A very good observation, at that. He didn't even mean for it to sound like that, but it did.

It's not like he was looking for a way to get rid of her. Really, it was because he could still hardly believe that she was here with him at all. Someone who was a good bit older and established than he was; someone who should be completely out of his league. Yet here she was.

"I'd really hope not," he finally said to her.

"Not in the slightest," she assured him. With the sun now setting, Cammy took off her glasses and put them away in her purse, which also allowed her to make proper eye contact as she next addressed him. "Thank you for the wonderful evening, Kostas."

"Yeah. Same to you." He came so close to stammering this out, but thankfully, it all came out smoothly enough.

They were then left to stand there as Kostas tried to think of what to say or do next. He got the sense that their date was over, but it's not like that meant he should just turn and walk away. Besides, she was still here, waiting for something to happen.

Eventually, he slightly put out his arms and took a slight step towards her…only for Cammy to unexpectedly tense up.

He stopped immediately, having not expected such a reaction. Just as he was about to apologize, his date seemed to relax a little bit, looking more than a little embarrassed. "Oh," she uttered. "I'm sorry, did you want to…"

"Just a hug," he assured her right away, which only added to her embarrassment.

"Ah." Was she blushing? If she wasn't, then she looked pretty close to it. "I probably should've mentioned this before, but as a practice, I'm generally wary of people. So, I can't say I'm much of a hugger."

Kostas couldn't say he was all that surprised by this given her usual demeanor, but he also couldn't say he wasn't a little disappointed. "That's okay," he said. "Sorry for…"

"No, no, go right ahead."

As if to prove she was serious, she stepped back towards him, but otherwise left the rest in his hands. After getting over his initial confusion, Kostas tentatively stepped closer and when she didn't move away, gave her a simple one armed hug.

The whole thing was pretty awkward, but over the three or so seconds it went on for, he did feel Cammy try to reciprocate by putting an arm around his waist. Given their height difference, she also ended up putting her head against his chest, even if it was for a brief moment before they separated. Once they did, she almost seemed like a different person. At first, she didn't even make eye contact, sheepishly smiling as she adjusted the straps of her purse for no apparent reason; when she did finally look at him, she seemed so much more timid than before, even as she tried her best to regain that composed demeanor of hers.

It was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

Given that they were pretty close to her stop now, Kostas was about to ask if she would like for him to stay until her bus arrived, but before the words could come out, they noticed said bus approaching.

"I think that's me," said Cammy. Maybe it was just him, but she sounded just a little disappointed. Turning back to him, her smile became more assured, a sight that almost made him weak in the knees. Her beauty, the dim evening light, the clear affection in her gaze; it was all too much. "It really was a wonderful time. Will I be seeing you?"

If he had any lingering worries about whether he'd turned her off or not, they were immediately dispersed. "If you'd like," he replied.

Cammy's answer didn't come right away, but it was fairly conclusive. "I would."

Her bus finally pulled up to where they were waiting and she hurried over to board before it took off, leaving Kostas to watch her go. "Get home safe! Text me when you make it back, okay?!"

"I will." she assured him just before she boarded. "Good night, Kostas."

"Good night!"

Kostas continued to stand there and watch even after the doors closed behind her and the bus drove away, during which time he couldn't help but reflect on the events of the last few hours. All the while, he was smiling like an idiot. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed someone's company so much; he also couldn't remember the last time he was so utterly captivated by someone. That lingering thrill he'd felt during their first few interactions wasn't really present anymore; instead, he felt like he'd finally glimpsed her true self, even if it was just for a moment. And he just knew there was so, so much more to her than he initially thought.

Yep, she would definitely be seeing more of him.

…

Cammy had a lot to think about during her commute home. Needless to say, Kostas's future internship at SiRN and his family's connection to it were chief among them. She never even considered that all this was even a possibility and she doubted that Juni had known anything about it when she set this whole thing up. It was all rather…disappointing.

What she'd said to Kostas before they parted had been entirely truthful. She really had enjoyed her time with him, both before and after that unfortunate revelation. Cammy liked to think she was good at reading people, and what she saw was a generally honest, well-meaning young man with a strong work ethic, which made it all too easy for her to let her guard down around him.

And then there was the hug. It really wasn't anything that special, but for the brief time it lasted, Cammy had felt completely secure. She'd been hesitant, yes, but he'd shown her that he was willing to respect whatever boundaries she had and that in turn told her she could trust him. And why shouldn't she trust him? He hadn't done anything wrong…not yet, anyway.

When she finally made it home, she entered her flat to find Juni and Decapre watching something on the TV, with their house cat resting on the former's lap. Juni had gotten hooked on Doctor Who recently and started going through its very lengthy backlog, and she wasn't the type that liked watching things by herself. Let's just say that Cammy was just a little relieved that she'd had a valid excuse not to participate that day.

"You're back!" Juni beamed once she noticed her. "How'd it go?"

"Good," Cammy answered. As she did, she noticed a pair of empty plates on the small table in front of the couch, which in turn made her notice the distinct smell of curry.

"Are you hungry?" Decapre asked her, no doubt noticing the source of her distraction.

"Famished." She hadn't anything beyond a handful of pastries at the cafe and while they were by no means bad, they were no substitute for a proper supper. For her part, Decapre seemed to have foreseen this.

"We made sure to save some for you. Get changed and eat."

"And come join us!" Juni added on.

"That as well," Decapre concurred. "We have a few questions for you."

"Yes, I'm sure you do." Rolling her eyes, Cammy started making her way to her bedroom. "I'll only be a minute."

Upon closing the door, she used her newfound privacy to let out a deep sigh. To say she was conflicted was an understatement - frustrated would be a bit more appropriate. At first, she deliberated whether she should tell her sisters what she'd learned, but ultimately decided against it, at least for now. She would tell them once she herself managed to make sense of it all.

Rather than changing, Cammy sat down on the side of her bed, setting her purse down beside her. And then she got to thinking again - thinking about what she should do next. As she did so, she ended up remembering she had yet to inform Kostas she'd made it home, prompting her to take out her phone and compose a quick message.

However, she hesitated a bit before sending it. "Why was she sending this?", she asked herself. Out of politeness, out of obligation, or out of genuine affection? Or maybe because she saw an opportunity she couldn't afford to miss?

I'm home. Hope you are as well.

And that was that. Cammy still wasn't sure what the answer to her question was, but she saw no use in dwelling on it.

About half a minute later, she got a reply just as she was preparing to change, followed closely by another message.

Not yet, but soon. Glad you made it back safe!

Tonight was great. Hope to see you again soon.

Even with all her present misgivings, she couldn't help but smile. She hadn't really been thinking when she asked if she would see him again, effectively asking him for a second date, but it wasn't something she wanted to walk back on. She still could, perhaps even should, but she simply didn't want to. The two of them had built a good rapport; it would be a shame for it to go to waste.

But try as she might to look at him objectively, that one crucial detail of his future hung over her like a specter. What was she going to do about it? What could she do about it? The answer was likely nothing, but she'd already made a crucial choice.

This wouldn't be the last time she and Kostas would see each-other, for better or worse.

...

Author's Note: I'm honestly surprised I managed to get this out in the timeframe I promised given how my strategy when it comes to scheduling is to not schedule anything, but here we are. Writing this story has thankfully been a pretty easy process and I'm really looking forward to getting the rest of it out. As you can see, things are going to get a lot juicer from here.

I'm probably going to focus on my other projects for a little bit before I get the next chapter out, and maybe/maybe not start a new one. I have a bunch of very loose ideas for other OC centric stories for other series and characters, including, but not limited to: Huntress (DC Comics), Chloe Frazer (Uncharted), Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan), Millia Rage (Guilty Gear) and Widowmaker (Overwatch); but I guess we'll see if I go through with any of them. You're also free to let me know if any of those ideas sound interesting, or to suggest other ideas.

Join me in the next chapter where Cammy struggles with her newfound gambling problem.