Kashi was fastening an earring when Lucas came running down the stairs.
"Kashi!"
"I'm right here."
"I'm ready."
Kashi turned. Lucas stood at the bottom of the stairs wearing sunglasses.
A small backpack hung from his shoulders. His trainers were tied, his cap sat backwards on his head, and judging by the shape of the backpack, he had packed enough supplies to survive several days without civilisation.
Kashi lowered her hand. "Ouuu. Who's this handsome devil?"
Lucas pushed the sunglasses higher up his nose. "I'm about to steal your heart."
Kashi laughed. "What's in the bag?"
"Things." Lucas shrugged. "In case."
In case of what remained unclear.
Kashi decided she valued her remaining brain cells too much to investigate. "Come on. We're leaving." She reached for her phone.
A knock sounded at the door.
Lucas looked towards it. "Are we expecting someone?"
Another knock.
Kashi crossed the foyer and pulled the door open.
Chaos stood there. For one very unfortunate second, Kashi forgot what she had been doing.
White shirt. Dark trousers. Hair pushed back carelessly.
Hands in his pockets.
Standing on her doorstep with absolutely no explanation for why he was there.
Like a lost puppy. A very hot lost puppy. Which was ridiculous.
Chaos Riegrow was many things.
Lost puppy should not have been one of them.
His gaze settled on her. "Hello, Wildflower."
Heat crept up Kashi's neck.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
She cleared her throat. "What are you doing here?"
Chaos's mouth curved. "Visiting my neighbour. I wanted to see you."
That did absolutely nothing helpful for the heat climbing towards her face. Before Kashi could answer, footsteps approached behind her.
Lucas appeared at her side. Chaos looked down.
Lucas looked up.
Kashi glanced between them. Neither blinked.
Lucas slowly removed his sunglasses. "Who are you?"
Chaos raised a brow. "Who are you?"
Lucas frowned. "Lucas." He reached for Kashi's hand and wrapped his fingers firmly around hers. "Kashi's little darling."
Chaos's gaze dropped to their joined hands. "Chaos. Boyfriend-to-be."
Kashi rolled her eyes and Lucas's grip tightened on hers.
"We were just heading out," she said before whatever masculine nonsense was developing could evolve.
Chaos looked at her. "Where?"
"The amusement park."
Lucas immediately added, "Together."
Kashi could practically hear territorial borders being drawn.
"Can I come?" Chaos asked.
Lucas opened his mouth to object.
Kashi answered first. "Why not?"
Lucas slowly looked up at her. Absolute betrayal.
Kashi squeezed his hand. "You'll survive." He looked unconvinced.
Chaos stepped aside. "I'll drive."
Lucas put his sunglasses back on. "I was going to sit in front."
"Behave, Lucas." Kashi was not about to let this little runt ruin the moment.
She had been thinking about Chaos all week, and here he was, apparently volunteering to drive them to an amusement park.
Lucas's shoulders dropped. Chaos headed towards his house.
A few minutes later, he drove out in a black BMW and lowered the window, a suspiciously satisfied curve touched his mouth when he looked at Lucas.
Kashi got into the car before she was forced to mediate a gang war.
💜~~~~~~
The amusement park was crowded.
Children ran between rides. Music poured from speakers. Somewhere nearby, someone was screaming violently enough to suggest either a roller coaster or a felony.
Lucas practically vibrated beside Kashi. "THAT ONE." He pointed towards a towering ride.
Kashi followed his finger. "No. That looks dangerous."
"It's not that scary, Kashi."
"Whatever. I'm not going with you on that." She folded her arms.
Chaos looked at the ride. "I'll take him."
Lucas immediately turned towards him.
Kashi looked at Chaos. "You voluntarily want to be thrown upside down at an unreasonable height?"
Chaos glanced at her. "I've survived worse. Besides, it's not that scary."
Lucas snorted, adjusted his backpack and walked forward. Chaos followed.
Kashi watched them go.
Mm.
Something is odd.
Ten minutes later, she stood below the ride watching Chaos and Lucas disappear vertically into the sky.
Lucas screamed. Chaos did not and when the ride dropped, Kashi's stomach dropped with it. People screamed everywhere.
When the carriage finally returned, Lucas stumbled out with his hair destroyed and both hands in the air.
"AGAIN!"
Chaos stepped out behind him looking irritatingly unaffected.
Kashi shook her head. "You're both insane."
Lucas ran towards her. "Kashi, It was amazing!"
Chaos approached more slowly.
Lucas whipped around. "He was scared, Kashi. You don't need a scaredy man like him."
Chaos frowned. "I breathed, you twit."
"You went 'huh'."
"That was breathing."
"That was fear."
Chaos looked at Kashi for support.
Kashi put both hands up and burst out laughing. His gaze settled on her and stayed as Lucas was already dragging her towards another attraction, talking at a speed no reasonable person could follow.
Kashi let herself be pulled, laughing.
She Argued with him over candyfloss. Stole some anyway. Cheated shamelessly at a shooting game, then denied it when Lucas accused her.
At another stall, she spent far too much money trying to win him an enormous stuffed shark simply because Lucas had looked at it for three seconds too long.
Chaos watched her. This Kashi was different. Not Miss Saints at the head of a conference table. Not the woman who could make executives reconsider entire careers with one look.
Not the woman who stood opposite him and refused to yield an inch.
Here, her hair was tied loosely back, her laughter came easily, and Lucas dragged her from one ridiculous thing to another as though Kashi Saints belonged entirely to his afternoon.
Chaos had never seen her like this.
"Chaos!"
He looked up. Kashi stood several metres away holding an enormous blue shark.
Lucas bounced beside her. "You're carrying this, future whatever."
Chaos looked at the shark. The child was beginning to piss him off. Children, hmph violent little demons. "I don't take orders from you, little boy."
Lucas thrust the shark at him. "I heard boyfriends carry things."
Chaos accepted it immediately.
Kashi, "..."
Lucas, "..."
Chaos tucked the shark under one arm. "What?"
Kashi's lips twitched. "Oh, nothing."
Lucas looked personally offended by his own tactical error.
The afternoon deteriorated from there.
Lucas bought Kashi ice cream. Chaos bought her a larger one.
Lucas won her a plastic bracelet. Chaos disappeared for several minutes and returned with a ridiculous stuffed bear almost as tall as Lucas.
Kashi looked between them.
Yeah.
Something was definitely wrong with these two.
Chaos nudged Lucas forward. "Go find another ride."
"You go find another Kashi."
Kashi choked on her ice cream.
Lucas grabbed her hand. "Come on, Kashi."
Chaos caught her other hand. "No. She promised me the next ride."
Kashi looked down at both hand, then slowly raised her head. "Have the two of you considered getting your own girlfriend?"
"NO."
They answered at the same time.
Kashi looked up to the sky.
God had abandoned her. She wasn't even either of their girlfriends.
Lucas scowled at Chaos.
Ever since the man had appeared at the door, Lucas had not liked him.
Lucas had known Kashi since he was six. She loved him very much, and there was no way he was letting this tall man simply appear and start taking up all her attention.
No way.
If he needed to prove he was the better man, then he needed something convincing.
Lucas looked around. What could he do? His gaze caught on a building and a wicked grin spread across his face. "Kashi."
Kashi looked at him.
"Let's go there." He pointed across the walkway. "Haunted house."
Kashi's laughter died. Chaos followed his finger.
Lucas looked at him. "Are you scared?"
Chaos looked almost offended. "Of a haunted house? You're kidding."
"Nope." Lucas smiled.
Kashi stepped between them. "Okay boys, we've established that you're both very brave. Let's go get food."
Neither moved.
Lucas folded his arms. "I bet I'm braver than you."
Chaos handed the stuffed shark to Kashi. "Oh? How so?"
"I bet I can finish the whole haunted house without getting scared."
Chaos regarded him. "I can do that."
Lucas pointed at him. "Then let's make it a competition."
Kashi stared at the child.
Where had Jude gone wrong?
Chaos crouched slightly, bringing himself closer to Lucas's height. "What does the winner get?"
Lucas's eyes moved towards Kashi. "The winner gets Kashi's attention for the rest of the day."
Chaos glanced at her, then back at Lucas. "Deal."
"Excuse me?" Kashi pointed at both of them. "I am standing right here."
Lucas thrust out his hand and Chaos shook it.
Kashi stared at their joined hands. "I did not consent to being a prize."
Neither was listening.
"Fine," Lucas said. "But no cheating."
Chaos straightened. "I don't need to cheat against a little kid." He turned towards the haunted house. "Let's go."
Kashi did not move. Lucas grabbed one hand.
Chaos took the other and she was dragged towards the entrance.
This is kidnapping. Kashi screamed internally. I know people. I have lawyers.
The doors closed behind them. Darkness swallowed the corridor.
Kashi's heart kicked hard against her ribs.
Oh. Fuck.
She hated haunted houses. Being frightened was deeply unpleasant when she had not authorised it.
Lucas marched ahead. Chaos walked beside him.
Kashi remained approximately one step behind both of them.
The first corridor was easy.
Dim lights. Fake cobwebs. A skeleton hanging from the ceiling.
Something scratched behind the wall.
Kashi's gaze snapped towards it.
Fake, Kashi. It's fake. It's fake.
It's fucking fake.
They continued. A corpse dropped from the ceiling and Kashi jerked. Her hand shot forward and caught the back of Chaos's shirt.
Slowly, he looked over his shoulder. Kashi looked down. Her fingers were twisted in the fabric.
When the fuck had that happened?
Chaos's mouth began to curve. He faced forward again.
Another bang came from somewhere behind them. Kashi tightened her grip.
The next section was worse.
Much worse.
Someone crawled out from beneath a table.
Lucas jumped but recovered instantly. Chaos did not react. Kashi nearly climbed onto his back.
By the third section, her dignity had been abandoned entirely. One hand remained firmly attached to Chaos's shirt.
At some point, Chaos reached back, caught her wrist and drew her around to his side.
Kashi went willingly. Which she intended never to discuss.
His arm settled around her. "You alright?"
"Yes."
A woman screamed directly beside Kashi's ear.
Kashi buried her face against Chaos's chest.
Lucas turned. "Kashi, you look frightened."
She immediately lifted her head. "You rascal. Shush. I'm protecting Chaos."
Chaos's chest moved beneath her cheek. Kashi pinched his side and the laughter stopped.
When they reached the final section.
Lucas squared his shoulders. "I'm going to win. Give up now. I haven't screamed once."
Chaos looked at him. "You think so?"
Lucas beamed.
Kashi was too busy watching the dark corridor ahead to notice Chaos lean slightly towards him.
Chaos lowered his voice and whispered something into Lucas's ear. The boy went completely still.
Lucas stared into the darkness. His earlier confidence mysteriously departed his body.
Something launched itself from the shadows.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Kashi shrieked.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lucas shrieked louder.
The final doors burst open and they stumbled into daylight. Several people waiting outside turned towards them.
Kashi was attached to Chaos's side with both arms around him. Lucas was wrapped around one of Chaos's legs.
Neither appeared inclined to let go.
Chaos stood between them, vompletely fine, a wicked, satisfied smile curved across his face.
Kashi's hair was a mess and Lucas looked traumatised.
Chaos looked down at the child clinging to his leg, then at Kashi wrapped around his side.
Victory is mine.