🍾🥂Snippets 3/6 - Jewel

*minor spoilers for Avulsion, part 2

The rooftop of the art gallery, as well as the whole establishment, is technically closed for visiting this late into the night, and so, you’re not surprised to find that, aside from you two, there’s no one present. What does surprise you, however, is the location in itself.

Out of all the places Jewel could have selected for your well-awaited date, you’d expect something more outdoorsy. The gallery is built on a hill, on the very outskirts, but it’s still a highly industrial area of the city. Like mushrooms after the rain, there are bars and pubs popping up every which way, and even if the noise doesn’t carry this high, the colorful, flickering lights sure do.

Nevertheless, you have complete faith in Jewel and her level of preparedness. If she told you to jump down right now, you’d do it without thinking, expecting a net or something of the sort to be placed there beforehand. She doesn't leave anything to blind chance, perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to feel safe around her.

She’s also not so secretive - not anymore - and yet, the only answer you heard when you inquired after her mysterious bag was, ‘You’ll see later.’ Curious, that.

Honestly though, all you care about is spending your break with her, no matter the place. Yes, you might get to train together nearly every day, but struggling to match the exhausting regime along with a group of overly competitive agents-to-be isn’t exactly ideal. And no, sneaking out to find empty halls or classrooms between training isn’t nearly as fun as you thought it’d be. Well… most of the time.

Once you do reach the top, and Jewel unlocks the gateway into the smaller, elevated roof, everything becomes clear. It’s only from up here that you notice the neat lines of teal grass that cut through the rough squares of asphalt, shaded so thickly they appear almost smooth, like water. There are no visible stars, but the tiny light bulbs bound by a string that stretches along the fence give the illusions of a starry night, especially when viewed from the little alcove Jewel leads you to.

On this side of the rooftop, and in the alcove, the ground is laid with grass. Upon touching, it turns out to be obviously artificial, even if it does look like the real deal. For you, at the very least. Jewel doesn’t seem particularly impressed by the final effect.

“This brings back memories,” you offer offhandedly, watching her scrunch her nose as she inspects the abstract installations and the synthetic greenery.

She doesn’t reply, but you note her shoulders tensing slightly when she places her bag on the ground, propping it against a side of the alcove.

And that's when you really, truly get it. With the idle comment left hanging between you, you finally realize that, indeed, that was her intention all along. The soft, nearly skittish look she throws your way only serves as a definite confirmation.

A piece of contained wilderness, the sky above, and even the sculptures imitating metal and rust - no wonder she had you go there before you return to Elazar, even when you had a perfectly nice hotel provided and paid for.

“That's so sweet of you,” you coo, rushing to press a quick peck to her cheek. “How did you manage to get the keys? I thought they only rented it for those fancy VIP gatherings.”

And for a good reason. The view is insane - the gallery is seven stories high, and encompassed by the blue shadows, surrounded by specks of neon lights, it makes you feel as though you’re on the deck of a ship set adrift on calm waves. You had no idea there even was such a beautiful place in that tin can of a city. Jewel has a knack of showing you things you’ve never even bothered to look at, getting out of you reactions and feelings you thought yourself incapable of.

Maybe it’s the exhaustion that’s making you sentimental, or just the scenery. It’s been over a year since that day you decided to throw it all away and run, half-amnesiac, into the unknown with her. The memory was there, yes, but almost hazy, now brought to light in this man-made déjà vu. You, holding hands, huddled up on that lonely bus stop. At the beginning of a journey you thought would be your final.

“I have my ways,” Jewel responds after a while, once she pulls out a neatly rolled blanket. Breaking and entering isn’t her style, but you know how resourceful she is. Resourceful and sociable. Her growing circle of associates is nothing to sneeze at... Though you have to admit, the flock of agents orbiting around her every second of the day is more than a little annoying.

“I know that. Hopefully your ways don’t include seducing the guard—”

“What? You know I wouldn’t— Funny.” The way her expression switches from genuine concern into a vexed frown in a split second forces a laugh out of you. She huffs at your teasing, pausing her picnic preparations to send you a look. “I guess you’d know.”

“Oh?”

“Isn’t charming your way out of trouble your kind of thing?”

“Is it?” you blink, sending her your best smile. You know it works on her, but still, it warms you up inside to see the tell-tale blush creeping up her cheeks. “If you say that, it must be so. I trust your judgment.”

“Do you really? Then stop hovering and sit down. It’s almost done.”

“Fine, fine. I’m just really curious about what’s in here.” You don’t need to point at her mystery bag for her to understand. The fabric is stretched, packed full of something heavy. Glass, from the look - and sound - of it.

“You’ll see. Now, you can help me with the snacks.”

“On it.”

Helping out, as far as Jewel is concerned, amounts to nothing more than unpacking the fruit cups and sandwiches you bought on the way here. Of course, she only made you do it in revenge for your earlier teasing, otherwise she’d ease your curiosity earlier.

When she finally motions you over, pulling the unopened bag closer so that you can finally take a look, you waste no time before sticking your hand inside. The entirety of the bag is filled with miniature champagne bottles taken from the hotel room you’ve been staying at. From all the alcohol provided, she chose the best, most expensive option, and knowing that more than likely she had to ask Reed, of all people, for advice on it, brings a smile to your face. It is good to see them play nice, even if only for your sake.

“It must have cost a fortune.”

Jewel smirks, fishing out the bottles and setting them in a row, one by one. “That’s the government’s problem.”

“Ha! Well, in that case, don’t mind if I do.” Funding your leisure time is the least they can do, after all, for having you go through that shitshow of a training.

Unscrewing the first two bottles with her keys, Jewel doesn’t spill even a drop. It might not be the most exciting champagne opening in history, but at least it’s clean.

“What do you want to toast to?” you ask once each of you are holding your own bottle. “Passed examinations?”

Jewel grimaces. “A part of me was hoping I’d fail.”

“They’d be stupid to let you go, even if you did.”

She might be a tier four, but she makes up for it with other, more practical, skills. A tier, as you have learned through the training, isn’t everything. Sure, it gives you a boost, but you’ve seen your share of failed fives to know better than to be cocky. They are forcibly drafted out of necessity to fill the holes in the personnel, but that doesn’t mean most of them are actually suited for something besides juggling paperwork.

“But another part of me is... I don’t know.”

“Proud? I never really thought about it, but the ACB are really on another level. And it’s not the SPD.”

“Yes, it’s really not.”

For a moment, you sit with that thought and all it implies, each of you focusing on your drinks. You gobble yours up in one go, hoping it’ll kill the bad taste the words have left in your mind. It’s a bit depressing, the reality that even now, during your free time, your past is hanging above you like a dark cloud.

Your mood doesn’t go sour, though. It can’t. Not when you’re facing Jewel, who grimaces after every sip she takes of the champagne, going as far as to call it ‘expensive trash’ under her breath.

“You don’t have to finish it.”

“It’s already paid for, might as well. It’ll go down easier after the first one.”

“Oh, so you’re saying you want to go all in tonight? Are we staying here for the night?”

“Why? You don’t want to?”

“I do. It’s just that—” glancing at the row of bottles, your eyebrows arch meaningfully. “Remember what happened to the lamppost by the Center after the

party—”

Jewel groans, pressing a hand to her forehead a bit too strongly. “Don’t remind me.”

“Why? It was hilarious. You just—”

You notice the piece of fruit flying in your direction just in time to evade it. Still, you pick it up midair, plopping it into your mouth. “There are better ways to shut me up,” you mutter after swallowing the snack.

“And there are better ways to ask me to open another bottle for you,” she says, already reaching for her keys.

“Yeah? Will a ‘please and thank you’ do? Or,” you halt, lowering your voice, “are we talking carnal?”

“Ask me that again after two more of those,” Jewel quips, looking around the rooftop as if checking it for more than just security. When you blink at her in astonishment, she grins, half-abashed, half-pleased by your reaction.

“Wow, and you’re telling me I spend too much time with Reed? Look at that.”

“Never mind.”

“No taksies backsies! Except, let’s do it now, before the extra bottles. I don’t want to end up like that lamppost, all twisted and—”

“You’re terrible, and I regret taking you here.”

“No you don't.”

“I really do.” And you’d have believed her if she wasn’t trying so hard not to laugh along with you.

Jokes aside, it’s in your best interest to keep the champagne at a reasonable distance from her. Having witnessed pure steel nearly ripped in half after a burst of Jewel’s alcohol-induced enthusiasm, you don’t really want to have your body end up in a similar state.

No matter how cute you find her bashfulness to be, you like having your limbs in their intended places.