Duty and Deceit

Chapter 14

Coexisting with Kaia had been absolute torture. She was everywhere. Her scent buried into the cabin, he'd smell it every time he'd enter, the citric notes of it lingering on his clothes despite how much he'd washed them. Strands of her brunette hair would catch his eye on the sofa, her perfume and bath oils in the washroom closets, her washcloth drying on the racks beside his.

His usually messy desk was organised and uncluttered, and all his files were alphabetically arranged.

Every time he'd come home at dawn, he'd find her sitting on the windowsill, reading a book beneath the passing clouds. Sometimes when it drizzled, she'd sit with the window open, feeling the droplets on her face. Roxas would always stop at the sight. The slight condensation on her face, droplets dripping from her lashes, the tip of her nose and cheeks red, the mist forming before her lips.

"I like the weather," She'd told him when he stared at her for a beat too long.

He gave her free reins to roam the city as she liked, gave her money so she could buy whatever she needed. He thought she would jump at the chance to go out, but she'd refused, demanding he come along because she wasn't familiar with the place yet, and while Roxas would rather catch up on his sleep back at the apartment, he for some reason agreed.

There wasn't much to see around the city but factories and mines, stores that sold the barest essentials, flowers that had long withered away in autumn, beggars lining the side of streets, and the steady beat of metal hitting metal. Baatsai was a cold and barren city.

It was the city Roxas spent most of his time in, the city that ministers and politicians frequented. They resided further up the mountains, away from the thieves and prying eyes, away from the hustle and bustle of the commoners. But despite all that, Roxas felt at home here. So much so that the two months he spent back at Rehyt felt too quiet for him, too suffocating. He'd missed the busy life, missed the sounds of wagons strolling past every half an hour, the curses and brawls of drunkards, the candlelight and torches that always seemed to match its cool grey surroundings.

But life in Baatsai wasn't for everyone, especially not people who spent the majority of their lives amongst green trees and vivid flowers.

He glanced at Kaia, expecting her to be as depressed as the city around them.

But Kaia had the smallest smile on her face, a light in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. He often found her relishing in the rare rays of sunlight, finding little bursts of flowers on a small bush, and watching a child run to keep up with her mother with red mittens on her hands.

She enjoyed the cool humid air, the drizzles that happened now and then. She told him about a girl named Elora, who he knew survived the tragedy, who loved the rain and snow but was too prone to illness to enjoy the cold weather without consequence; told him about Micah who hated all weather but liked this one because it always felt cosy. About Ryker who would despise this place since he hated anything wet.

He felt eyes on him and sneaked a look at Kaia, who quickly glanced away from him. She'd been doing that all day- peaking up at him from the menu when they'd gone to a restaurant for lunch, looking at his reflection in the shop windows, when he looked at her reflection back, she pretended to look at the dresses displayed instead.

Every brush of her hand against his, every glance, made him feel things in his stomach. He ignored all of it. He couldn't afford to be vulnerable. Letting Kaia in was like handing her the key to his undoing, and he couldn't allow that

When Kaia saw people boating in the middle of a lake, she demanded he take her too. And he did, buying them tickets for an hour. She'd practically run to the boat, depositing her purse in his care, as if he wasn't going along with her too.