Gaia

Mari found herself sleeping easier in Eli's armchair than she did in the studio. Andy, however, was uneasy everywhere. He had his tough-guy mask on, but only someone as close to him as Mari would know how terrified he was about being this high up in the towers. It was probably most of the reason he was bitter against everyone. He refused to talk about what he experienced in Grelhurst, but whatever it was, it had taken its toll on him and left several slivers of gray in his dark hair.

“I still want to go back down,” he said, as Mari ushered him back to the studio to get dressed.

“I can't let you do that,” she said flatly. “I have to keep an eye on you.”

“Oh, yeah?” he smirked. “What made you care so suddenly?”

“Oh, I don't know,” she said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. “The ‘possession of narcotics’, maybe?”

The smile fell off Andy’s face when she said this, shrugging and looking down at his feet.

“Were you selling or using?” Mari asked. “Both of those are wrong answers, by the way.”

“Neither,” he said. “I just had it on me. I was holding it for a friend. The guy totally profiled me, by the way. I was literally just standing there, he had no reason to search me. So it was a violation of my-”

“Andy! Tell me the truth!” Mari demanded.

“Fine,” he sighed. “It was just a little bit. I bought it off an old friend for a pretty good price. I wasn't going to use it.”

“I leave for a few weeks and you get back on the cocaine train,” Mari scowled. “The cocaine train-wreck. I can't believe you.”

“I didn't do anything with it,” he protested. “I just had it. It's all gone now. Poof. They took it.”

“And I'm glad they did,” Mari said, picking up her jacket. “I have to go to work. Clean up around her a bit, okay?”

“It's not even a real job, Mari,” Andy said as she walked away from him.

She just chucked a pillow off the couch at him, slamming the door on her way out. She quickly pulled herself together before Eli saw her again, though when she found him, he looked too tired to even notice she was a bit frazzled. She frowned and sat next to him at the table, and only then did he seem to notice her. He hadn't even gotten dressed yet.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Rough night,” he yawned. “You can take the day off, I think I'm going to fake sick today.”

“I don't think you're faking,” she said, reaching out to feel his forehead.

He flinched away slightly, then shook his head.

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

“Go back to bed,” she told him. “Sitting here acting miserable is just going to make things worse, you know.”

“What, are you my mom now?” Eli chuckled. “Don't you want to go hang out with your brother.”

“I'm cross with him right now,” she announced. “He's being a dumbass.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Mari nodded. “But only I'm allowed to call him that, so don't get any ideas.”

“Alright,” he laughed. “Is this way of informing me that you want to stay here?”

“You never did set the lock back on your door,” she shrugged. “I consider that like a welcome mat.”

“And you've walked all over it,” he said.

“I'll stop when you ask me to,” Mari said quietly.

Eli went silent for a few moments. He was very hesitant and seemed to think really hard about it, but took Mari's hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze with a slight smile on his face.

“I'll survive, for now,” he said.

Mari realized that while his words were sweet, his heart wasn't completely into it. Something was bothering him, and she had a feeling it was something he didn't want to talk about. Still, she didn't want to leave him alone.

“Maybe we could forget about all the security stuff and do something fun today,” she suggested.

“What kind of fun?” he asked.

“We could order a pizza and watch that crappy horror movie from the start of Ella Stellar’s career,” Mari grinned. “Spoiler alert: They chop her up into little pieces and feed her to her best friend.”

“That's awful,” Eli said, though he was laughing.

“I know, that's what makes it great,” she said.

“Alright, fine. Why the fuck not?”

They watched bad movies and ate pizza well into the afternoon, making fun of Ella's worst performances as the day went by. It almost felt like a date, the way she was cuddled up against him, but she was too scared to suggest that idea to him. She didn't want to spoil the moment, when even he had his arm around her and pulled her a little closer every now and then.

“You'd never guess what a jerk she is from watching these,” Mari said.

“That's what show business is,” Eli shrugged. “You should know. I doubt you were what everyone thought you were back when you were a stripper.”

“Adult lounge dancer,” Mari corrected.

“Were you on the pole?” Eli questioned, teasing tone in his voice. “Did you go full nude or just lingerie?”

“Depends on the tips,” she answered.

Eli took out his wallet and counted out several large bills, waving it front of her face.

“You're kidding, right?” Mari asked.

“I don't believe you, I want to see for myself,” he said casually. “This is seven hundred dollars, in cash. Going once…”

“You're stupid.”

“Going twice…”

“Fine,” Mari said, snatching the bills out of his hand.

She counted them out before tucking them into her bra, but she didn't get up after that. Eli raised a brow, nudging her slightly.

“Come on, where's my dance?” he asked.

“I said I'd do it,” Mari giggled. “I didn't say I'd do it right now.”

“You little con artist,” he laughed, poking her in the sides where she was ticklish. “Give me my money back.”

“Final sale,” she told him, laughing as he continued tickling her.

“Fine,” he said. “But I expect my money's worth.”

“I like this side of you,” Mari said, grinning.

“What side of me?”

“The side that laughs,” she shrugged. “You're not all grumpy and stressed. And you actually seem like you want to talk to me. And you're friendlier.”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” he said pensively.

They were silent for a moment before Mari pulled herself up and kissed him again, but he pulled away quicker than usual. He looked at her up and down, then sighed and slumped back against the couch.

“I was thinking,” he said.

“Uh oh,” Mari frowned.

“No, not in the way you think,” he chuckled. “Today, when you came over, it got me thinking. I don't want to hold you up here unless you want to be. I don't even know how much you owe me, so who knows if you've paid it off or not. Things didn't go the way I thought they would when I came up with the brilliant idea.”

“Where are you going with this?” Mari asked.

“I'm saying, if you want to go home, you can,” he said. “I'm letting you go.”

“Did you just kiss me and then fire me?” Mari said, blinking a few times in confusion.

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “See, I have this position for a PA open, now. A paid position. I can schedule you for an interview, if you want.”

“Paid, huh?” Mari giggled. “Alright, I get it now. When's your next availability then, sir?”

“I don't know, my last PA was garbage and didn't do any of the scheduling I asked her to do,” he teased. “I guess I'm free right now. Do you have any references?”

“There's this one guy who literally dragged me down a hall on more than one occasion,” she said. “He was a real jerk sometimes, but he was also a pretty good kisser.”

“He seems like a great guy.”

“Nah, just a jerk.”

“Do you want the job or not?” he laughed.

“Yeah, I'll take it,” she said. “Only because you so obviously want this garbage PA to stay.”

“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I kind of really do.”