Chapter Text
They’re watching Cobra Kai when Kyro stalks in, plops himself down on the loveseat, and turns to stare at them with unnerving intensity. After a few awkward moments, he clears his throat pointedly, and it becomes obvious he wants to talk to them. Aaron elbows Nouren in the ribs, points to the remote, and with an annoyed huff, Nouren pauses the show. He’s not particularly intimidated by Kyro’s antics (at this point they’ve been living together for two months, if the guy wanted to hurt them, he would have already), but he knows Aaron really wants to be friends and it’s rare that Kyro comes to them first.
“So I have some news,” Kyro announces and Nouren thinks he detects a hint of nerves under Kyro’s steely tone. It’s like he’s announcing someone’s death. They wait expectantly, an implicit go on in the air, until Kyro delivers.
“My sister is moving in with us next weekend.”
“Wow, that’s… new, why didn’t you ask first?” Aaron’s doing an impressive job of keeping a pleasant, neutral smile on while Nouren’s face has pulled into a concentrated grimace. He hates surprises, and he’s well aware that Aaron does too- a new roommate is exactly NOT what they signed up for, especially after their disaster of a random roommate fell through. They had agreed they would rather split the cost of a 4 bedroom than go through finding another rando who could screw them over again. Just as Nouren’s gearing up to call Kyro out for being the biggest asshole ever, Kyro speaks up again.
“Look, I know it’s unexpected, but she just found out her girlfriend of the past 3 years has been cheating on her, and they were living together. I didn’t want her to stay there and she didn’t want to go home. Our mom can be kind of… intense, which is why I told her she can stay here,” Kyro clears his throat again, eyes darting from the floor to the space between Aaron and Nouren’s faces. Pointedly not looking them in the eyes. Nouren realizes with a start that despite Kyro’s initial tone, he’s actually uncomfortable. This is the most he’s talked to them since they moved in. Aaron seems equally shocked, face frozen with his eyebrows raised and mouth slightly ajar.
“There have to be ground rules. I don’t want her hair everywhere, she has to respect the common space, NO PARTIES- ” Nouren starts listing off his requests when Aaron rudely slaps his hand over Nouren’s mouth, effectively shutting him up.
“Sorry, Nouren isn’t a normal person. Look, that sounds super shitty, of course she can stay here as long as she needs,” Aaron’s tentative smile is on full display (his go-to peace offering that has worked on every mother, coffee shop owner and girlfriend he’s ever used it on) and it breaks the tension. Nouren sighs heavily, resigning himself, and offers his own peace offering.
“Yeah, okay, don’t worry about it. As long as she’s okay with game night and doesn’t hog the bathroom, she’s welcome to stay,” Nouren bites out through his best fake smile.
Kyro nods slowly in agreement, and with that, they have a new roommate. Nouren makes a mental note to clear out of the apartment next weekend so he can avoid the inevitable as long as possible.
Kharis groans as she hauls her gold-plated full-length mirror up the last flight of her 4 story walk-up. She’s been moving boxes all day, the sun hot on her back, sweat soaking through her thin burgundy tank top, and she’s so close to being done. She’s only paused to drink iced coffee like a lifeline and grumble irritably at her brother, Kyro, who refused to help. “It’s not my problem your ex is an asshole,”and his smug tone reminds her painfully that he does have a point. She’s grateful he’s letting her move in at all- she’s not on the lease and he’s only been living here a couple months with new roommates, so he’s going out on a limb for her.
Such a big brother , she rolls her eyes fondly, stepping across the entrance of the apartment. Thankfully it’s a spacious place (they originally had a fourth roommate who bailed last minute), so Kharis has her own room tucked into the furthest corner of the apartment, smaller than she’s used to but better than the alternative. Mai…
Kharis grits her teeth as memories of her last conversation with Mai play through her head for the umpteenth time that day. She’s sick and tired of reliving one of the worst moments of her life, but her brain isn’t getting the memo -- it feels like everything she does reminds her of Mai’s betrayal. Kharis’ reverie is broken by the sound of the door opening behind her. Shuffling out of the way, Kharis plasters a bright smile on her face and turns around to see a young man with platinum silver hair and a mild grimace in the doorway.
“Hey! I’m Kharis, it’s great to meet you,” she beams, placing her mirror to rest haphazardly against the wall so she can stick out her hand for a handshake.
“... Nouren. I see you’re all moved in,” he replies stiffly and Kharis could be wrong but she thinks she detects distaste in his tone.
“Uh, yeah, it took all day but I’m wrapping up now. I was thinking of ordering pizza for dinner, are you interested?”
“That’s kind of you to offer, but I’ve already eaten,” and with that, Nouren makes a beeline for the bedroom right next to hers.
Kharis has practice talking to people who don’t want to be talked to, so she chooses to overlook Nouren’s apparent lack of interest. I guess he’s not a fan of pizza . She sighs and picks her mirror back up, muttering under her breath, “you could have offered to help, ya know”.
It’s been nearly a week since Kharis moved in and Nouren has almost successfully pulled off pretending that nothing’s changed. Almost . Except- her hair products are miraculously taking up a whole shelf in the bathroom, she’s constantly in the living room loudly betting against Aaron that she’ll beat him in Mario Kart, and suddenly their kitchen is actually being used to make food. Like, real meals, not microwaveable. What’s more, with her presence it’s like the rift between Kyro and them has disappeared. Where Kyro used to stay holed up in his room studying, he now sits on the kitchen island, sneaking glances at the video game marathons Kharis and Aaron have, occasionally joining when Kharis bullies him enough. Aaron’s overjoyed that Kyro is hanging out with them, and he has nothing but positive words to say about Kharis. Nouren, man, she’s SO cool. Didja know she’s also into karate? I’m thinking about bringing her by my dojo. Do you think she’d like that? An outsider would think it was Nouren who had just moved in with the way everyone else was getting along.
Nouren isn’t quite sure what he’s feeling. Jealousy, perhaps? Loneliness? Aaron’s always been more outgoing than him, picking up friends quickly, not leaving Nouren behind so much as extending the invitation while knowing that he won’t follow. It’s become a staple of their friendship that Aaron leads and Nouren (sometimes) follows. If he’s in the right mood. Aaron jokes that Nouren is the ultimate lone wolf, but really, it’s just that he is used to being alone. Growing up as an only child and an army brat, he never had someone to call a good friend until college, when he met Aaron in ROTC. Although they quickly realized that neither of them was cut out for army life and quit as soon as they could, they’d stayed in each others’ lives, and no matter who else has come and gone, Aaron has stuck by his side. So no, Nouren is pretty sure he isn’t jealous of Aaron’s new friendships, or lonely. He’s just… adjusting to a new dynamic.
In the past, it’s always been the two of them. They could afford a 2 bedroom, before they moved to the city so Nouren could pursue his writing and Aaron could pursue his career as a stunt double. He doesn’t like being out of his comfort zone, which is why he insisted that they look for MALE roommates- fully knowing of course that Aaron was bound to get a new girlfriend who would be around all the time. Although Aaron’s girlfriend has yet to materialize, the sudden addition of Kharis to their apartment is enough to throw Nouren for a loop.
“Yooo Nouren, you there dude?” Aaron’s booming voice snaps him back into the present.
“What is it?” Nouren realizes that they’re all staring at him, Kharis’ eyes particularly piercing, and he suppresses the urge to clear his throat.
“We were talking about holding a game night this weekend. What do you think? You free to play some Catan?” Aaron grins, holding the game above his head and rattling it for emphasis. Always a flair for the dramatic. Nouren pauses, running his weekend back through his mind, realizing that he actually has a day off for once.
“Saturday night works for me,” he shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant. “Are you inviting Clove?”
Clove is Aaron’s best friend from childhood and one of the reasons they moved to LA- to be closer to her. Although Nouren initially saw her as just another woman in Aaron’s roster, he’s grown to appreciate her and considers her one of his close friends too. She balances out his friendship with Aaron, effortlessly meeting Aaron’s high energy enthusiasm and easily managing Nouren’s antagonistic sense of humor. She’s his favorite person to make fun of Aaron with.
“Oh yeah dude, I’ve been meaning to have her see the place! I’ll text her,” Aaron replies cheerily. Within a few hours, they’ve organized their very first game night for the apartment. Nouren tries to get excited at the prospect- at least he won’t be completely outnumbered with Clove present.
Notes:
Hello friends,
It has been so long and I apologize for not updating The Marriage Contract. Truthfully, I bit off more than I could chew. It was my first attempt at a multi chapter fic EVER, my first time returning to fic-writing in 5+ years, and my first time attempting to write in-universe with an actual plot.
((The Marriage Contract is not abandoned, just not currently making much progress on it))
I've been working on this new story on and off for the last several months and I'm almost done, so I feel confident that I can finish it. I hope you all enjoy! I'm focusing on Kharis and Nouren, but I hope to eventually add side romances of Clove/Kyro and Rei/Aaron.
Chapter Text
“You’re so extra,” is how Rei greets Kharis when she arrives, taking in the full spread Kharis made in preparation of game night. There’s homemade pizza, pigs in a blanket, chips, salsa, guacamole and a veritable cornucopia of drinks cooling in an ice bucket on the kitchen island. Rei rolls her eyes as Kharis scoops her up in a bone crushing hug, then struts across the living room to plop down on the loveseat beside Kyro, throwing her legs across his lap.
“Always a pleasure,” Kyro grumbles, putting on his best “ you’re annoying get off of me” voice that he reserves especially for Rei. He nudges her and Rei eagerly pokes him in the ribs, smirking at Kyro’s indignant ouch! Kharis stifles a laugh watching them together- she loves seeing Rei get under her brother’s skin. They’ve been driving each other crazy since childhood and seeing them play fight is comforting after the last couple weeks she’s had.
“It is, isn’t it? Been too long. Since when are you two living together?” Rei asks, pointedly turning to look at Kharis. She swallows uncomfortably, notices Kyro’s face tighten, thinks I should have prepared for her to ask , but before she can reply, someone else already is.
“Who are you?” Nouren’s voice is gruff with sleep, his hair sticking up at awkward angles ( did he just wake up?) . Kharis honestly forgets sometimes that he’s one of her roommates- outside of their first meeting, she’s hardly talked to him. Begrudgingly, she admits to herself that he looks pretty cute in his sweats and wrinkled shirt.
Not one to be put out by someone else’s attitude, Rei is quick to snap back, “Who are you ?”
They stare at each other warily for about 30 seconds until Nouren’s phone goes off and he’s forced to break eye contact.
“Clove? Why are you calling me? I see… yeah don’t worry about it, I’ll come get you,” and with that Nouren is rushing around Kharis to slide on sneakers without so much as a word to the rest of them. Rude much.
“Jeez Kyro, you sure know how to pick ‘em. You wanted a game night with sourpuss?” Rei drawls, finally getting off him so she can carefully examine every inch of the apartment. Inspector mode , Kharis thinks wryly- Rei has a gruff exterior but on the inside, she’s incredibly protective. Also, her dad is kind of a real estate mogul back home, so she knows how to spot a shoddy deal. It was a point of contention between her and Kyro that he never asked for her help with apartment hunting.
“Not really my choice, he’s a package deal with Aaron,” Kyro shrugs in response, stuffing another pig-in-a-blanket into his mouth. Kharis wonders at that; the two of them seem so different. Where Aaron is exuberant and silly, like a puppy, Nouren has an air of caution around him, like a warning sign not to get too close. She would compare him to a cat, but that might be too cliche.
“You’ll meet Aaron soon, he’s hilarious and a good sport. I’ve beat him in MarioKart like 30 times and he keeps coming back for more,” Kharis laughs, and as if on cue, Aaron emerges from the bathroom, wearing an impossibly tiny towel, toothbrush hanging out the left corner of his mouth. He looks like he’s about to make a joke, but stops short when he sees Rei eyeing him.
He immediately ducks back into the bathroom, they hear the sound of running water, and a few moments later, Aaron’s sheepish face peers out of the bathroom entrance.
“I didn’t know we had company, sorry about that. I’m Aaron, and you must be Rei. I would show you around but I’m kinda naked, so like, gimme five?”
Kharis stifles a laugh while beside her Rei blinks slowly, unamused, and calls out, “I can manage fine on my own, thanks.”
Aaron’s mouth gapes open slightly (a common reaction to Rei’s bluntness), but he quickly recovers. He shrugs his shoulders, walks towards his room and replies airily, “Your loss, I give the best tours around!”
A few moments later, he returns dressed in basketball shorts and a ribbed tank top- much more appropriate for the sweltering heat of late August than Rei’s year-round leather ensemble. Kharis herself hadn’t been sure what to wear for the occasion (she hasn’t dressed up for anything since the fateful night she walked in on Mai fucking another woman on their couch), so she’s sporting acidwash jean shorts and a white tubetop.
While they wait for Nouren to return with Clove, Kyro and Aaron play a round of poker. Kharis declines so she can watch over her apple pie, and also because she wants to catch Rei up without her brother’s overprotective peacocking ass in the middle of the conversation. She motions Rei over and leads them to her room in the back of the apartment. She’s in the process of redecorating still, after giving away most of her home decor because it reminded her too much of Mai. Kharis clears some clothes off the lone chair in her room and Rei plops down expectantly.
“So… something happened between you and Mai?” Rei’s eyes are knowing, and Kharis swallows slowly. It’s no secret that Rei has never been a huge fan of Mai, but given Rei’s own messy history with Kyro and her tendency to be cynical in all matters of love, Kharis had never taken her concerns seriously. Of course that’s come back to bite her in the ass.
“Spit it out Kharis. Whatever it is, you know I’ve heard worse,” Rei remarks, her patience growing thin as the silence stretches on.
“Mai… found someone else,” Kharis admits, but she finds herself unable to continue. It’s the first time since everything went down, when she called Kyro crying hysterically on the verge of a panic attack, that she’s actually had to say these words out loud. Come to think of it, she doesn’t even know if her new roommates know why she suddenly moved. She wonders what Kyro told them.
“She found someone else, huh? Was this before or after you two ended things?” As usual, Rei is spot-on and Kharis’ face shows as much. In an uncharacteristic show of empathy, Rei pats her lap, a silent request for Kharis to come sit, and she lets Kharis curl up in her lap.
Wrapped in Rei’s arms, Kharis allows herself to let out a pitiful moan and whisper, “I trusted her. How did this happen? Where were the red flags?” They sit in companionable silence for a few moments as Rei strokes Kharis’ hair.
“Normally I would tell you ‘I told you so,’ but I’ve been told that’s not actually comforting, so I’m keeping my mouth shut today. You’re welcome,” Rei mutters into Kharis’ hair, where her hands have stopped moving.
“Yeah yeah, I’m grateful, whatever. Can we pretend this never happened?” Kharis says stiffly, remembering why she hadn’t reached out to Rei in the first place.
“As long as you give me dibs on pizza!”
*
*
*
“Nouren, stop grumbling. I’m the one who should be annoyed with Aaron, not you!” Clove points out as they finish climbing the stairs to his apartment. Somehow, Aaron had forgotten to ask him to pick up Clove from work, leaving her waiting for almost an hour while Nouren made his way across town to the YMCA where Clove’s been working part-time.
Deadpan, Nouren states, “Aaron can handle it,” and pushes the door open to his apartment. His eyes are immediately drawn to Kharis, who appears to be in a competitive pizza eating contest with Aaron and the prickly woman he’d met on his way out. Kyro looks bored as he calls out time and Aaron triumphantly holds up his fist before realizing he actually tied with the stranger. It’s only a few moments later, after the inevitable arguing about who won, that Aaron takes notice of him and Clove.
“Oh my god, Clove! It’s been too long, how are-”
Before Aaron can finish, Clove cuts him off, punching him on the arm and issuing one of her token you fucked up stares Nouren’s grown so fond of.
“Next time show me how much you’ve missed me by NOT forgetting me at work, yeah?” Clove rolls her eyes at Aaron’s guilty puppy-dog expression, and turns to the nearest person, who happens to be Kyro.
“Sorry about that, I’m usually much nicer when I’m meeting people for the first time. Are you Kyro?”
Kyro nods mechanically, as if he’s not really processing what Clove is saying, too busy looking her up and down. Classic Clove, Nouren thinks to himself. Always shutting guys up with how beautiful she is .
Even in her work uniform- black leggings and a navy blue camp counselor tank top- Clove stands out with her glossy red hair and blue eyes. Nouren considers himself lucky that he became immune to the Clove factor years ago.
Kharis comes to Kyro’s rescue, reaching out her hand and introducing herself.
“Hey, I’m Kharis, Kyro’s sister. It’s great to meet you, I’ve heard only good things!” Clove eyes her hand and ignores it in favor of wrapping Kharis into a hug.
“I’m a hugger, I hope that’s okay,” Clove says as if she’s not already squeezing Kharis tightly. Nouren stifles a laugh as he remembers the first time he met Clove- she had done the exact same thing to him, but he didn’t handle it nearly as well as Kharis.
“Are you kidding? I am touch deprived living in this man cave, hug me anytime,” Kharis replies. When they step away, Kyro seems to have regained his ability to speak, and he introduces the woman next to him.
“This is Rei, she’s our friend from back home. I promise her bark is worse than her bite,” Kyro teases. Rei and Kharis groan in response- some kind of inside joke, Nouren assumes- and they move on from introductions to food.
After piling their plates high with pizza and settling a debate over background music or background TV (Nouren won and now he’s DJing), they start what promises to be an overly competitive game of Monopoly. They’ve pushed together two end tables and they’re crowded around it. In Nouren’s effort to get as far away from Aaron as possible, whose overenthusiastic gaming tendencies have resulted in injuries in the past, Nouren finds himself seated between Clove and Kharis. Across from them, Rei has secured a spot between Kyro and Aaron. In the midst of game setup chaos, Clove squeezes his leg under the table, and Nouren relaxes. Belatedly, he realizes it’s kind of nice having more people to play with-- usually it’s just him and Aaron, which gets old. Huh. Not admitting that to Aaron, though .
Two rounds in, Nouren can only describe himself as not surprised when Rei accuses Aaron of cheating.
“I’m sorry, but where could you possibly have gotten that money from? You just bought the last six properties that went up for auction! Banker, I call foul. Don’t give me that look Kharis, you’re being nice because he’s your roommate but I’m not going to fall for Bambi eyes,” Rei cries out, pointing viciously at Aaron who is doing a poor job of hiding his laughter.
“I’m not getting involved,” Nouren states calmly, and then hands the bank over to Clove.
“Hey!” Clove protests, shooting a glare at Nouren. It’s only when she looks down at the bank and realizes that there is, in fact, a lot of money missing, that she starts laughing.
“See? I’m not crazy, these fuckers are cheating!” Rei exclaims, and Nouren takes that as his cue to fill his drink.
When he returns, the game has been upended on the floor and Rei is wrestling with Aaron over a $50 Monopoly bill while Kharis, Clove and Kyro scramble to pick up the game pieces. Nouren isn’t sure what to make of Kyro’s friend, Rei- she’s definitely more aggressive about board games than he thinks is really warranted.
“You! This is your fault too. Get down here and help us,” Kharis hisses, breaking Nouren out of his reverie. He eyes the wriggling forms of Aaron and Rei skeptically- should I really get any closer to that? - but Clove is tugging his leg and he gets down with an exaggerated sigh.
“In my defense, I did not know Aaron was going to be so obvious about it.”
“You two are such idiots. I’m revoking your banker status, okay? Clearly you can’t be trusted with fake money,” Clove chides, bending over and reaching for a piece that fell under the couch. Nouren notices Kyro eyeing her again, and tries hard not to roll his eyes. He’s decided to willfully ignore how obvious his roommate is being when Kharis makes eye contact with him and looks pointedly between Clove and Kyro.
She stands up, clears her throat, and pats Nouren’s shoulder briskly in a come on, let’s get out of here way. Neither Kyro nor Clove seem to notice them disappear to the kitchen.
“Sorry about that, I just figured if we’re out of the way it might get him a chance to make a move, ya know?” Kharis says conversationally, reaching into the cooler for a beer.
“Mmhmm. Good luck with that. Clove hasn’t dated for as long as I’ve known her.”
“What? Why not?” Kharis appears baffled, and Nouren can’t blame her because he’s often felt that way over the years, watching Clove turn down every person who has propositioned her.
“I guess she’s just not interested,” Nouren keeps his reply short. It’s a little too soon for me to tell her about Clove’s unrequited feelings for Aaron. Semi-requited? It’s hard to tell with them.
“Uh huh, I’m sure that’s all. Well, you don’t have to tell me, but I hope she gives Ky a chance. He’s a really good guy once you get to know him.” Kharis captures his gaze - is she staring me into agreeing with her? - and he nods slowly to appease her. I really don’t care if your brother is a good guy. Not my business . The moment is broken by a hysterical Aaron, calling out from the living room.
“Hey! Don’t think I didn’t notice you get away, Nouren! Get back here and save me from this mad woman.”
By the time Clove and Kyro have calmed down their respective friends and Nouren has issued a semi-honest apology for his part in the “cheating scandal”, as Rei keeps calling it, they’ve all collectively decided to move to a different game.
“So we’ve narrowed it down to Catan or Heads Up--” Clove starts, only to be cut off by Aaron.
“For the record, I refuse to be teamed up with Nouren in Heads Up. He can’t do impressions for the life of him.”
“Well I don’t want you on my team for Catan, you’ve never won a game in your life,” Nouren grumbles in response.
Kharis jumps in then.
“Okay I have to see these impressions, my vote is for Heads Up,” she says, shooting Nouren a wink that has him alarmingly flustered. Get a hold of yourself Nouren. Before he can protest, Clove and Kharis are arranging teams for Heads Up and he finds himself on one side of the living room with Kharis and Rei.
“Nothing personal, just can’t have Aaron and Rei on the same team, you know?” Kharis whispers into his ear before the game starts. Kharis is up first and it turns out she’s astonishingly good at this.
“Ooh, okay, I’m a bird on the American dollar-”
“American Bald Eagle,” Nouren spits out. Kharis nods a vigorous yes and continues.
“Umbrella Academy, out trans man-”
“Elliot Page,” Rei has the answer before Nouren is done wondering what an Umbrella Academy is.
“Beehive, Halo, All the Single Ladies-”
“BEYONCE!” Bellows Rei, looking unnecessarily pleased with herself. I could have gotten that , Nouren thinks.
The time passes easily, and more than once Nouren catches himself smiling, having more fun than he’s had in ages- since before the move, definitely. By the end of the night, Aaron is drunkenly declaring that having Kharis move in was “the best decision ever” and Nouren’s inclined to agree (not that he would admit it, obviously).
“Take care of yourself, Ren. Visit me at work some time, yeah? I promise the sun will be good for you,” Clove tells him as she gives him a parting hug. Nouren raises an eyebrow, silently communicating that there’s no way he’s going anywhere near kids willingly.
“Call me next time Aaron forgets to pick you up. I’ll be there.”
“You always are!” Clove looks wistful as she says this, but the expression passes before Nouren can decide if he should comment. She’s moved on to hugging Kharis and Nouren falls back into the role of observer as everyone says their goodbyes. Aaron is attempting to charm Rei into giving him her phone number, which by the looks of it has a 50-50 chance of success, and Clove appears to be making plans with Kyro. Interesting . He realizes that Kharis is also off to the side, watching, and for a moment, he feels kinship. But only for a moment.
His need to be alone is rearing its head after many hours of socializing, so he slips off before anyone can stop him. Time to write.
*
*
*
After everyone has gone home for the night, Kharis is decompressing in her room when she hears a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she calls out. Kyro enters, looking a little tired and concerned.
“Are you okay?” He asks, no preamble. So obvious. Kharis has to appreciate his concern.
“Mmm, yeah, tonight was fun. It was a good distraction,” she admits. Kyro crosses the room, sitting beside her on the bed and snagging a pillow to lie back on.
“What did you and Rei talk about?”
“She didn’t know about me and Mai so… you know, I filled her in.”
“You could have let me handle that. She’s not exactly sensitive,” Kyro points out dryly.
“I’m not a baby, Ky. Besides, it’s good practice. I haven’t had to tell anyone since I told you and as much as I don’t enjoy it, I have to face facts. As much as I appreciate you letting me move in for a bit, this is temporary, right?” Kharis pauses, looking at him for confirmation.
He reluctantly nods.
“Right, so the sooner I can be honest with my loved ones about what happened, the sooner I can move on with my life,” Kharis tries to sound like she knows what she’s doing, because she is just so tired. She’s tired of being babied by Kyro, tired of being the wild youngest child that bad things happen to. Mai was supposed to be end game, a chance to be normal , get married, maybe adopt kids one day.
“If you say so, Khar. Just know you can take as long as you need. Aaron loves you and after tonight, I think even Nouren is warming up to you. So please, don’t rush on our account,” Kyro presses a kiss to her forehead, lets out a long yawn, and stands up.
“I’m gonna head to bed but let me know if you want to go for a run tomorrow or something. I think Clove’s gonna join, so it should be fun.” A goofy little smile spreads across his face when he says Clove’s name.
“As fun as third-wheeling your run sounds, count me out!” Kyro sputters indignantly and Kharis waves him off until he gets the hint and finally leaves.
So begins her nightly ritual of trying and failing to sleep. She didn’t used to struggle with sleeping. But ever since things ended with Mai, she finds that nighttime is the most difficult part of the day. She can’t quiet her mind from going over the what-ifs, or remembering in vivid detail what Mai looked like- guilty, but not remorseful. She’s tried drinking, smoking, melatonin- all things that should make her so sleepy she can’t help but crash. Tonight she’s going to try to physically unwind with gentle stretching, read a book, and pray to some higher being that she can fall asleep before morning.
*
*
*
Her eyes blink open slowly, and Kharis realizes with a start that she successfully fell asleep… on the floor. She looks at her phone and sees it’s 2:25AM. Not horrible . Frowning at the ache in her back, she stumbles out of her room to grab some water from the bathroom when she hears the faint hum of the TV. She walks curiously down the hallway and sees Nouren on the couch, lit up by the glow of the TV, hair sticking out in all directions. She walks forward slowly, waiting for him to notice her, but as she nears she realizes his eyes are closed. Softly, she whispers his name.
“Nouren? Are you awake?” Half hoping he won’t be, she startles slightly when his eyes open abruptly to stare at her.
“Why are you up?” Short and to the point as always. Kharis bristles at his tone but doesn’t have the energy to argue like she normally would. Instead of responding, she plops down on the carpeted floor across from the couch and rests back on her palms.
“Why are you up, dude?” She counters, eyes narrowed to keep the light of the TV to a minimum. He seems taken aback that she would ask, which is honestly how she prefers him. He’s more fun when he’s not in control.
“I’m an insomniac. I like to get my writing done at night,” he gestures to the laptop resting on his legs. Kharis didn’t even know he was a writer.
“Oh, that’s cool. Whatcha writing about?” It’s an obvious attempt to keep the focus away from herself, but thankfully Nouren doesn’t call her on it. Small mercies .
“I’m trying to write a political fantasy novel. Think Game of Thrones but no incest and the dragons run things,” Nouren tells her, his voice carefully neutral. Ugh . Kharis hates how neutral Nouren always is. She wants to see him fired up again, like he was during Game Night.
“Mmmm tell me more about these dragons. What are their names? Do they belong to different houses too? What are their powers?” He stares at her for a moment, as if to ask “you sure you wanna know”, and she doesn’t falter, holding his gaze steadily, her lips turned up in a small smile.
“Okay, so, the dragons belong to two opposing clans who have fought for centuries. Also, they have a human form. And they’re about to be reunited through an arranged political marriage…”
The clock ticks to 4:30am and they’re still talking about dragons, the tension between them long since evaporating into the comfortable darkness of the living room.
Notes:
Hello friends, I'm really excited for the next couple chapters! Writing a group scene was difficult- I wanted to give everyone's personality a chance to shine. I truly enjoyed writing Rei. In my head canon, I see Rei as a Jessica Jones type hard girl who turns into Winston from New Girl when playing games, and I hope you're living for it as much as I am.
For me, this story is really about Nouren and Kharis, and from here on out we won't be seeing much of the others. Don't worry- their stories will be told another time (I have plans!) but for now, hang on for the ride with me :)