Should I keep it light, stay out of the fight?

There ain't nothing that comes close to as good as you

Thoroughly satiated to know that Flora had been just as shocked as he, there’s a certain lightness humming through his motions now. It lends to a quickness, as if he must hurry to rush them to properly catch up now that the fuss of hurt feelings has been straightened out. Or at least, dragged enough into the semblance of straight to avoid tripping over it with every stride.

The sight of her perched on the counter when he looks back twists his prodding mouth and its questions into something wolfish for a moment. It calls to mind another counter in another house, another time when he’d thought she looks damn good perched up somewhere like a snack. ”Well, who can blame her for that,” Kaisel says with a tilt of his gaze away from his very alluring wife to finish crafting their beverages.

That his grin cuts short and creeps into a meager line suddenly surely has nothing to do with Koa’s quiet retreat into his own affairs. Around, but changed in a way Kaisel can’t help but feel a touch responsible for. Weirdly, it’s a bit of a relief to know maybe he’s less to blame after all, since Soh seems to be in the same boat, and she did not fall in love with Koa’s ex-girlfriend behind his back. ”I’d honestly always preferred him with you,” Kaisel remarks as casually as if plucking lint from a sweater. ”Although I think that was always my own desire coming though,” he admits, not having realized that until now, that even when he thought he’d been doing his best to keep a lid on everything, his feelings for Flora had been quietly bleeding through. ”And a way that would have kept you around, even if at arm’s length.”

He shrugs, because that’s all water under the bridge now, and even if the bridge got some fire damage in the process, well… it can still be crossed. ”Soh and he did seem to have something though,” he sighs, ”but I’m not sure what he’s doing lately. Secret family might make the most sense, actually.” The small shake of his head that follows as he rounds to her on the counter suggests that he is too tired to bother hacking his way through that particular trail right now.

Offering her the glass, Kaisel tilts his towards her to cheers before taking a sip. It keeps him from making a face as she continues. He leans in on the counter, his free hand slipping over her thigh, his other rolling the wine stem in his hand. As she leans in, he does the same, pulling back with a startling speed to properly see her with the unheard gasp that follows. ”That dick!” For all his claims to be Koa’s best friend, so much so that he couldn’t possibly keep his mouth shut to afford Koa the best possible way to receive Kaisel’s apology and explanation, he turns around and does the same damn thing. ”He acted like loyalty was as much a part of him as his skin,” Kaisel scoffs. ”Then he goes and pulls the same shit.” Not that Kaisel doesn’t understand how he could possibly end up there, knowing full well the fight against willpower and how it is to lose out to the heart’s wants in the end, but Kaisel had never strut around on such a high horse as Zavien did about it all.

”Well Soh told me Zavien already talked to Koa. So,” He flaps his hand, rolling his eyes hard enough to hurt. ”Must be nice to have laid the groundwork for him.” Sad to say, that Koa having already endured the betrayal once, likely took it better the second time, and maybe Koa’s staying away from everyone now to love someone in secret so no one else he considers close will fuck him over.

Kaisel

There is you, then all the rest, second place is the best they'll get

Whether I'm gonna curse you out or
Take you back to my house

There’s a flicker in Flora's expression when he looks back at her, something quick and knowing that catches the shape of that wolfish glance and answers it without a word, her mouth curving just slightly as she shifts on the counter. It’s a good thing there isn’t ice cream involved this time, no careless sweetness waiting to be abandoned, no excuse for him to pay attention to her lips and then to close the distance in that same sudden, breath-stealing way he once had, because Flora is fairly certain—watching the way his gaze drags and then snaps away—that if he reached for her like that now, if he put his hands on her and pulled her down instead of letting her sit there, they wouldn't be able to finish this conversation at all.

At the mention of Koa, though, her nose wrinkles almost immediately, the expression instinctive and a little too honest as she exhales a soft, incredulous breath. "That’s super weird to think about," she says, not unhappily but with a definite note of please don’t, her head tilting as she looks at him, the sentiment landing somewhere between baffled and faintly amused. "And I am wildly happy that things did not end up that way." Her gaze lingers on him a second longer after that, the edge of her mouth tipping upward into something more mischievous, more openly fond, having choosen this version of things very deliberately, and there’s no world in which she’d trade it even for a moment.

She hums softly at the idea of Koa’s supposed secret family, the sound low and thoughtful as she accepts the glass from Kaisel, her fingers brushing his in passing before she shifts, angling herself a little closer, her knee edging toward him as if proximity is something she collects without noticing, something she can’t quite help as his hand glides over her thigh. Her attention is still fixed on him as he reacts, and at his sharp, indignant that dick! breaks from him, it sends a spark of delight through her that lights her expression from within, because there's nothing better than when someone shares your outrage, especially where drama is concerned.

Flora nods immediately, lifting the rim of her glass just enough to hide the quick grin that pulls at her mouth before taking a sip, her eyes still on him over the edge as if she’s drinking in his reaction just as much as the wine. "I know, right," she says as she lowers it again, the words slipping out with an easy, shared incredulity, her eyes rolling in perfect echo of his as she leans slightly into the counter. "Like, obviously I fully understand how they ended up in the same position," she adds, one shoulder lifting in a small shrug, the admission honest even if it comes with a faint edge. "But the hypocrisy is wild."

Her brows lift then, curiosity threading through the lingering amusement as she tilts her head, her fingers tapping lightly against the stem of her glass. "I wonder what Koa said.." she muses, the thought unfolding slowly as she considers it, her gaze drifting for a second before snapping back to him. "I mean, he and Soh were so much more than he and I were—and way more recent—so..." She trails off, lips pressing together briefly as her brows rise again, the implication settling between them without needing to be spelled out. "I can’t imagine that went well."

flora

I haven't decided yet
But I'm gonna get you back

Table by the bestest Sky!

There ain't nothing that comes close to as good as you

A short laugh puffs out on his exhale, because she isn’t wrong, it is all kinds of weird to think about now and better avoided entirely. Which seems to be precisely what Koa’s take on it has been too. ”I am too,” he says readily, no confession to it when it’s so plain. ”All things considered, I’m rather tired of picking apart the past and pretending anything can be untangled by doing so.” Woulds and shoulds have no place in the things that did. At this point, it is what it is. ”I just want to enjoy the now, and that’s entirely your fault.”

Those thoughts get left behind as wine is poured and the curtain on fuckery is drawn back. The grumble of something that’s more feeling than actual word only makes it halfway up his throat before he swallows it down with a large pull of the wine. ”It’s not just wild, it’s absolutely feral.” His disdain is punctuated with a shake of his head. ”Is there anything more insufferable than someone passing off bronze as gold?” he asks her, the answer already built it.

His overabundance of dislike has spiraled to new heights as Zavien continually threatens the people he loves deeply. That they’d once been friends is a fact that has paled so thoroughly with time, distance, and the continual actions of a man who says he cares and then appears to do the opposite. The reality is two men approaching protection in such different ways, they’ve stopped being able to see eye to eye about it, although perhaps that’s because one has always considered himself to be standing higher. Neither of them is willing to apologize first, least of all now, and truth and blame have become more buried beneath puffed up chests. It appears they’d only ever been friends out of convenience, rather than anything more substantial, allowing a small misunderstanding to swallow all goodwill.

Permitting another sip of wine to think, Kaisel leans further into the arm on her thigh, ensuring he’s got a full grip on what feels like the last bit of sanity tonight. ”I hope he kicked his ass,” Kaisel says with a flatness that suggests he’s distracted, his thoughts imagining the scene for him. He’d be on the sidelines, cheering Koa on. ”Although I’m guessing he was too stunned, because who saw this coming? Exactly, as you said, I was so sure they were back at it with the way they were acting.” They being Koa and Soh, who had slunk away together at the hot air balloon fair, and who partnered up for the rodeo, which might have ended up with Koa on his ass, but it gave Soh the opportunity to properly tend to him (in more ways than one, Kaisel had wrongfully assumed). Then again, at the same festival, Flora already thought Zavien and Soh looked close, and who’s to say what working beside each other in Stormbreak had planted behind closed doors.

Sighing, Kaisel sets his glass down. ”Well,” he says with a newfound nonchalance, although it’s anything but. His now empty palm slides in alongside Flora’s other leg on the counter as he glances fully up to her. ”I doubt my cousin would tell me if I asked, so only way we'll find out is straight from the ass' horse's mouth." Not a scheme, not exactly, but a happy result of them being the bigger people and playing nice for a night. "I think we should invite them over for a double date.” Not burying the hatchet so much as setting it on the table, but just because it’s within reach doesn’t mean he’d use it.

Kaisel

There is you, then all the rest, second place is the best they'll get

Whether I'm gonna curse you out or
Take you back to my house

Flora’s grin comes quick and sharp at that, something wicked lighting behind her eyes as she tilts her head at him, the corner of her mouth pulling both higher and crooked. "Cool, well," she says easily, the words bright with mischief, "we can absolutely start doing that as soon as you stop bringing up me dating your cousin," and her brows shoot up in exaggerated emphasis as if to underline the point before she leans forward, pressing a quick, laughing kiss into his hair like a reward he hasn’t quite earned but she’s giving him anyway.

She settles back with a soft snicker when he calls it feral, the word lingering in the air between them as she exhales through a small shake of her head, her fingers loosely circling the stem of her glass. "I mean..who knows," she muses, tipping the glass slightly before taking another sip, her tone drifting toward something dry and amused. "Maybe Zavien will send you a big sorry I get it now edible arrangement," she adds, her eyes widening just a fraction in theatrical skepticism that makes it very clear she does not, in fact, believe that for a second.

Her shoulders lift in a small shrug as she swallows, the wine buzzing across her tongue as she considers, something quieter threading through the humour now. "As much as a very petty part of me wants him to deal with the same shit you did," she admits, glancing at Kaisel sidelong, "I also kind of hope Koa didn’t have much to say about it." Her gaze softens when it lands fully on him, something openly adoring there, like she can’t quite help the way she sees him even in the middle of all of this. "Who knows, maybe after everything with you and him, he’s realized he doesn’t own the rights to the women who were once in his life."

Her glass lowers, then, set aside without much thought as his other hand slides up her leg, the shift in contact pulling her attention fully back to him, Flora's breath catching just slightly as something warmer flickers through her again, quick and unmistakable. She doesn’t hesitate, her ankles hooking around his waist as she draws him in, closing the space between them with an easy confidence, scooting forward on the counter until there’s no distance left to bridge, her body fitting flush against his as her hands slide into his hair, fingers threading through it as she tips his face up toward hers.

"That is sure to end in drama," she murmurs, her grin returning, slower this time, more deliberate, the words edged with anticipation rather than warning. Flora leans down, close enough that her lips brush his without fully catching, her breath warm against his as she lets the moment stretch just a fraction longer than necessary before she finishes, voice dropping into something softer, conspiratorial. "Let’s do it."

flora

I haven't decided yet
But I'm gonna get you back

Table by the bestest Sky!

There ain't nothing that comes close to as good as you

Taking an imaginary zipper across his lips and flicking the teeny tiny invisible key off somewhere into the depths of the house, Kaisel lifts just his eyebrows back at her in clear response. Never again. Kolora is dead to him, and he has a strict no-zombie policy called a fucking doubletap. Much like the kiss she plants on his head, as if helping erase the thoughts for him.

The liklihood of Zavien extending an olive branch made out of melon and grapes earns an immediate snort of dismissal. ”I’m sure he’s still found a way to make himself a hero in this. Probably told Koa he saved him from further heartbreak.” Kaisel’s clearly in a reasonable mood about all this and not at all letting exagerration run away with him because it feels a whole lot better than analyzing anything too properly, as hurt and annoyance are prone to do. ”If he did,” Kaisel insists after a moment, not letting the idea go even as he actively swats it away. ”I bet it’d all just be grapes and shitty cantaloupe. Probably get like, two whole strawberries.” Would be very Zavien coded to send him an edible arrangement as a show of goodwill, meanwhile everyone knows they’re some of the most despicable forms of sentiments possible. It borders on a backhanded compliment.

The breath that escapes him next sounds suspiciously like agreement. Much as he’d like for Koa to have bloodied Zavien for his own satisfaction, he hopes their friendship survived this far more intact than tattered. ”I guess that’d be for the best,” he sighs, the sound full of the effort it takes to yield to what’s right rather than what’s wanted. Ultimately, they’re one and the same, just the wanting might take a few more glasses of wine and need to wander around the house for a while.

His gaze lifts up to her at the last part she tacks on. He hears what she’s saying, has heard her frame it similarly before, but it’s not the way he sees Koa knotted into it all, not with him or Zavien at least. He doesn’t push that issue though, because she’s standing on a very different line amid this mess, in a way he’d never fully know (especially not after throwing away the key). Her feelings are earned, and her truth doesn’t remove anything else, and that’s all that matters.

Besides, he’s more than willing to move on from thoughts of Koa the moment her legs spring their trap around him. He lets himself be pushed closer to the edge with her, stepping in to meet her, already chasing the clash of heat he knows will come the moment their bodies align. When it does—her fingers threading through his hair, her skin pressing into his, her hand tipping the full weight of his attention onto her without resistance—a low growl slips free. Both hands press firmer on her thighs, fingers spreading wide as they drag upward at an unhurried pace. His thumbs curl along the inside, inevitably reaching dangerously high.

”Mmhmm,” he agrees, and it would have been the same answer no matter what she’d said. As she dips in, teasingly just out of reach even when he tries to close the gap, his focus tightens briefly before it snaps. ”Then it’s settled. I’ll write to Soh to make up to her and offer this to play nice.” Something he has no intention of doing tonight, made obvious by the way he suddenly reaches up, grabbing her hips and pulling her down onto him. He leans back, taking her with him, one arm bracing behind her while the other yanks down the top of her leggings. ”But first,” he murmurs, voice dropping low enough she has to stay close to catch it. ”I think I owe you an apology too.” His lips press slow into her collarbone. ”I’m going to arrange you into something edible.”

Kaisel

There is you, then all the rest, second place is the best they'll get

Whether I'm gonna curse you out or
Take you back to my house

Flora snickers, quick and bright, the sound slipping out of her before she can catch it as she tips her head, eyes glinting with something sharp and delighted. "Two whole strawberries?" she echoes, her grin widening as she imagines it, the pettiness of it blooming easy and familiar, something almost comforting in the way hurt can be reshaped into something ridiculous, something exaggerated and shared until it feels smaller than it did before.

That low sound in Kaisel's throat lands somewhere deep and immediate, and Flora feels it like a spark catching dry tinder, heat flaring through her all at once as his hands tighten on her thighs, her body responding without permission, without thought, every muscle drawing taut and alive beneath his touch. She presses closer, her breath catching as his thumbs curl higher, the movement slow enough to be deliberate, unhurried enough to make every inch of it felt. Her lips part around the shape of his name, but it doesn’t quite make it out, dissolving instead into a soft, unsteady breath as her fingers tighten in his hair, her toes curling against nothing as sensation floods through her, sharp and consuming in a way that makes everything else blur at the edges.

"Perfect," she manages, the word breathy and distracted, barely tethered to the conversation anymore as it slips from her lips. As he pulls her forward, the sudden shift knocks something loose in her, her stomach flipping hard as he drags her against him, the press of him turning the heat into something more robust, spreading fast beneath her skin as her leggings tug downward and the air hits warm, flushed skin. Colour blooms across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, her breath catching again as her body reacts before she can even think to temper it, the intensity of it almost dizzying in the way it builds and builds with nowhere to go.

Leaning forward, she crashes her mouth against his, like she’s trying to pour something out of herself and into him, like the only way to manage the heat is to feed it, to meet it head-on. It doesn’t ease anything; it only deepens it, sharpens it, the press of her lips against his turning urgent in a way that makes her chest rise with a quick, uneven breath. "Gods, I want you," she breathes against his mouth, the words low and desperate, stripped of anything playful now, her voice leaving no space for hesitation as her fingers tighten in his hair and she presses closer still, as if that alone might be enough to bridge the distance that suddenly feels unbearable. "Right here." No better place for something edible than the kitchen, surely.

~FIN

flora

I haven't decided yet
But I'm gonna get you back

Table by the bestest Sky!