Some Thing Called Myself (Complete)

XXXI: something weird

Ch. 31: Something Weird

Mara opened and closed her lips, a goldfish out of water. She looked from Bernardo to the tickets, then to Bernardo again. Tai's presence at her back felt like a bubble of warmth pressing against the nape of her neck; she could almost feel the weight of their eyes, probably stuck on her like a beetle in honey.

To ease a bit of the tension building around them, Mara let out a small laugh. "I do love Junina parties. All the corn and popcorn and warm cachaça. You know, there's nothing I like more than quentão. It's basically fermented sugarcane juice with processed sugarcane, a little ginger, and apples. Ginger, alcohol, sugar, and even more sugar. It's perfection."

Bernardo's smile shrunk a little, and he shared a glance with the person behind Mara. He cleared his throat, and the hand holding the tickets lowered nothing but an inch. Bernardo was perceptive. Way more perceptive than his good looks suggested.

"Uh," he started. "Maybe I caught you in a bad moment." Bernardo blushed, his pale complexion doing nothing to hide his embarrassment. "See you later?"

At his side, Frejat barked out a hysterical laugh. "You children are ridiculous." They snatched the tickets from Bernardo, batted one of them on his waiting hand, and slipped the other into Mara's shirt pocket. "She needs a ticket anyway, right? This cost, like, twenty-five cents. It won't bankrupt you, Beh...hopefully." They laughed again.

Goddess, Mara was starting to love that kid.

"Last time I checked, my grandparents owned the bank, so I guess it won't," Bernardo said with a    chuckle. The words had barely left his lips when he grimaced. "I wasn't trying to...uh. Forget it." He sighed and schooled his expression. "But yeah, no strings attached." He gulped. "No...date. I just wanted you to relax a little and enjoy the HQ. I...uh...the Sents here really missed you."

Mara felt bad for him; she really did. Frejat frowned a bit, studying his expression.

"Well," Frejat said. "I still have a few tickets to sell, so I'll see you later." They looked at Bernardo. "You have a meeting with Elena and the First Ring, right? I can walk you to the seventh floor if you want. I'm heading to the tenth."

Bernardo angled his face towards Frejat, but it took him a heartbeat to move his eyes as well. "That'd be great, thank you." He bit on his lower lip. For a moment, his gaze clouded and serious, Bernardo opened his lips to say something but didn't. Instead, he sighed and pocketed his ticket. "Let's go, Frejat."

Mara waved to Frejat, and they answered her with a grin and a middle finger that soon morphed into a peace sign. That little shit. They were only a few meters away when a voice interrupted them.

"Hey, wait!" Tai pushed away from the railing and strode forward until they stopped beside Mara. "Here." They tucked a hand into their pocket. Tai fished for a few five-cent coins and offered them to Frejat. "I want one too. A ticket."

Frejat and Bernardo's eyebrows arched high on their foreheads. Bernardo schooled his expression in a blink.

"You?" Frejat asked Tai. "I thought you didn't have time for this kind of bullshit." They shook the tickets. "Your words, not mine, said exactly"—they checked their wristwatch—"thirteen hours and two minutes ago."

"Maybe I have time now." Tai shook the coins in their fist. "Can I buy one or?"

"Sure," Frejat said despite the disbelief in their voice.

"Great." Tai took the ticket, stared at it for a moment, and slipped it into their pocket with a smirk. "I guess we'll be seeing you there, eh?" They gave a firm pat on Bernardo's arm and winked.