Thirty ◑ The Costume

Yes. Of course Lucille would say yes. Even now, as she prepared for her lunch date with Cade, her mind was still screaming the word with the intensity of ten fireworks.

And the best thing? Agnes was all for it.

Agnes’s approval—or disapproval—had been one of the things that Lucille had dreaded the night she’d come home from the ball. Oh, how she’d been ecstatic on the way home, how over the moon. She’d been bursting to tell anyone at all about how she and Cade had shared a dance under the stars. So much so, in fact, that she’d forgotten the possibility of Agnes finding the whole thing weird.

But of course, once Agnes had seen Lucille’s dazzled eyes and her even more dazzled smile, she’d already known what was going on.

“It’s Cade, isn’t it?” had been Agnes’s first words upon Lucille’s entry to their penthouse. “You two had some solid moments, didn’t you?”

Yes. All Lucille could say was yes. She’d ended up spilling the entire story to Agnes, and they’d stayed up nearly the entire night discussing how the whole thing with Cade had been meant to happen all along.

Strangely enough, Lucille hadn’t remembered Dimitri and the memory until much later. She still chose to leave the topic alone, though.

Now, as she brushed her hair back and stared at her own face in the mirror, her mind hovered above the memory. The flashes of it were vivid, almost alarmingly so. It left a low background beat in her chest, quite like a second heartbeat, only much quieter. Her joy was still too loud, too prominent, and it was what she chose to listen to.

Agnes took the brush from her and started to braid her hair. “What style would you like for this special day?”

“Just my normal look would do,” Lucille answered. When Agnes frowned, she added, “What? He already knows what I look like. There’s no point glamming up.”

“Alright, alright,” Agnes said. “Have you put on sexy underwear, though?”

“Agnes!”

“What? You never know!”

Lucille’s cheeks were warm. Like, really warm. It was a lunch date, for God’s sake. And it was their first. She still had no idea where they would go, but she was pretty certain that they wouldn’t be heading somewhere secluded to do some . . . stuff.

But yes, she did put on some fancy undergarments.

Not that she would admit that to Agnes, of course.

And thank the heavens she didn’t need to explain, because as soon as she snatched the brush from Agnes and prepared for a tirade, the elevator doors pinged. Agnes perked up immediately, abandoning Lucille’s hair to come meet Cade. In a panicked rush, Lucille grabbed her coat, her handbag, and spritzed some perfume on her neck just in time for Cade’s entrance.

“Hey.” He peeked into the room with the biggest, sweetest smile on his lips. “You ready?”

“Yes,” Lucille replied smoothly, getting up from her chair with all the grace she could muster. “Let’s go?”

“One more thing.” Cade reached into the pocket of his coat and produced a tiny cardboard box, which he handed to Agnes. “This is my thank-you gift for letting me borrow your cousin for a day.”

“What!” Agnes laughed and seized the box, carelessly tossing the lid over her shoulder and raising her prize in the air. It was a clip or a comb of some sorts, made of faded gold, fashioned into a row of interconnected leaves. Her face went slack. “Oh, my God, this is lovely!”

And it was. Not just the clip, not just the fact that Cade had taken the time and the effort to acknowledge Agnes, but the way she was now excitedly pinning the clip in her short black hair. It melted Lucille to see her the glow on her friend’s face, all the more when she noticed that Cade looked pleased with himself for the gesture.

"You know you shouldn't have," Lucille whispered to him when Agnes skipped into the corner to look in the mirror. "Look how crazy you made her and now. . . ."

She trailed off as he stepped closer to where she was standing and took out another box. This one was bigger, flatter, and inside it was another piece of jewelry. This time, it was a golden bracelet with an oval ruby pendant. The stone shone like a fresh drop of blood under the light of the midday sun.

"You seriously shouldn't have," she began to say, but he cut her off by taking her hand.

"I know, it's kind of weird and too forward," Cade said, gently wounding the bracelet around her wrist and kissing the top of her hand. "But you've made me really happy, and I just want to return the favor."

◑≡◑≡◑≡◑

And the favor had indeed been returned.

Ten days of dating had made sure of that. Ten glorious days of dating, within the restrictions of working in the same office, of course. There was also that boss-employee dynamic they had to consider. Good thing Cade was no longer in danger of getting fired (their sales skyrocketed, and William was spilling praises), and they had no big projects coming up. It allowed them more freedom, but their bonding still consisted mostly of talking on the phone, going out for drinks after work, and spending the weekends out.

Was this enough? Not really, in Lucille’s opinion, but at least their colleagues were supportive. Shanry and Clifford had both agreed that it was about time, while Rosie and Jamie had considered it a miracle, Cade going back to dating.

Lucille considered it a personal miracle too. She hadn't dated anyone since that hippie she met at London back in the sixties. Up until now she hadn't been interested in anyone. She was happier than ever, and even though Cade never told her outright, she could tell that he was at the same page. His smiles told her that much. The laughter, even the silence that followed the end of their conversations.

For once in many years, she felt like herself. Not the witch, not the punisher, just a woman living her life.

And Cade had helped her a lot in that aspect. He was so easy to be around with, not just because he was generous, but because he was the perfect balance of funny, smart, and calm. And patient. By God, the guy was patient as all hell.

Perhaps too much so, to the point where it had been the cause of Lucille’s frustration. Since their moment at the driveway of the Arkham Manor, he hadn't initiated some kind of physical contact apart from quick hugs and holding hands. He was really taking his time, and while Lucille appreciated this, she would still like some sort of a tangible display of affection.

Granted, most of their time spent together was in the office or in a public setting. Perhaps he was shy.

Well, of course he was shy. Lucille still remembered the first time she’d tried to seduce him. That had worked wonders. He'd practically fled the scene. He might do that again if she tried to amp things up with no preamble.

Tonight, she’d get him alone. Open the topic. Ask what they were. Clear things up. And yeah, of course flirt up a storm.

It was the Halloween party, anyway. The venue was still the Paradigm office, but everyone was either tipsy or full of cake pops to care much about anything. The possibilities were endless.

“Hey, we’re here, Red Riding Hood!” Shanry yelled over the loud hip-hop music blaring from the speakers.

Lucille raised her red cup as she stepped off the elevator, wedging herself between the others who spilled into the third floor. “Coming!”

A bubble of excitement and anticipation was swelling in her stomach. She couldn’t help smiling as she walked towards the wide table, on top of which red cups were arranged. A crowd was gathered around it, taking turns in tossing ping pong balls into the cups. One of the people watching and cheering was Cade, dressed as what she assumed was Jack Sparrow. It was really hard to tell, not only because she was getting distracted with how cute he looked, but because every single costume in the office was wacky and low effort. Including hers. She just put on one of the red hooded capes that she already owned and told everyone she was Red Riding Hood.

Lucille handed Shanry the cup of punch she’d gotten from the snacks corner in the second floor, smiling as they leaned against the wall and watched the others yell at Cade for messing up a shot. He waved them all off, dispersing from the crowd to join Lucille and Shanry. “Years have passed, and I still suck at beer pong.”

“I didn’t know you have an inner frat boy,” Lucille joked, and he bumped his shoulder against hers in embarrassment. God, she wanted to hug him. “Come here, oldie. Let the other kids-at-heart have their moment.”

Cade laughed, putting arm around Lucille’s shoulders and playing with her hair. “Alright, I’m going to stay here now.”

The elevator pinged open again, and in came more people. Justin was at the forefront, screaming like a true frat boy and holding a fresh case full of beer.

“Speaking of kids-at-heart,” Shanry said dryly.

Justin let out another scream and began to high-five random people in the table. “I'm joining this shit and I'm winning!” he yelled, then he blanched at the sight of Cade. “Er, sorry, sir.”

“It's fine.” Cade pointed at his costume. “Nice costume, by the way.”

Lucille craned her neck to examine Justin’s getup. Cade was right. The dude easily had the most decent costume of all. It was a white Greek-style tunic, with gold trimming. He even had a set of tiny wings as well as a miniature bow and arrows strapped around his waist. “Yeah, good costume.”

Shanry tilted her cup in consideration. “You Zeus or Hercules?”

“Neither.” Justin set down the case and twirled around for them to see. “I'm Cupid.”

“Oh.” Shanry laughed. “Why Cupid?”

A pug-faced soft look stole over Justin’s features. He pointed at the girl from Acquisitions who he’d gone to the ball with. She was wearing an identical Greek-style getup, minus the bow and the arrows. “Because I got my Psyche over there.”

“Wait.” Cade’s face lit up. “You and Nadine are dating?”

“Yay, office romance,” Shanry cheered, nudging Cade before turning back to Justin. “It's sweet that you went as a pair. Cupid and Psyche is my favorite myth. So romantic.”

“I know, right?” Justin agreed, “The god who married the most beautiful mortal.”

Lucille’s blood froze with those words. She was about to take a sip from her cup, but her hands clenched around it instead, unmoving and numb.

A god who married a mortal.

“It’s pretty rare, though, right?” she managed to mumble. “Gods marrying mortals?”

“In a way,” Cade said thoughtfully. “Gods and goddesses got in relationships with mortals all the time, though. It's just that it almost always ends in tragedy. The deities were unfaithful, and they punished the mortals for the things they’re guilty about.”

Snippets of the latest flashback invaded Lucille’s mind in a succession of sounds and sensations. Dimitri, angry because she’d set an attack on his lover’s kingdom. Punishing her for it, calling her his treacherous wife. . . .

Lucille had forgotten. Gods could marry mortals, as they have done so many times before.

And maybe, just maybe, she’d been married to one.