The city was still smoldering when they ducked into an abandoned cafe. Outside, the ash fell like snow, muffling the screams of bureaucrats and the occasional shriek from a compliance wraith being exorcised via audit. Inside, it smelled faintly of cinnamon and despair.
Jax slammed the door shut and turned the deadbolt, panting. "Okay. I think we lost them. Or at least bored them enough with our non-compliance to earn a head start."
Emily threw her bag onto a table, spilling cursed sticky notes and the half-activated Red Tape of Binding. "I can't believe the artifact flared up because we bonded emotionally."
Rafe flopped onto a couch and grabbed a cold coffee from the counter. "You call that bonding? I call that a corporate therapy session with extra violence."
Jax pulled off his jacket, revealing blood-smeared sleeves and bruises blossoming like modern art. "I almost caught you during that trust fall."
Emily arched an eyebrow. "Almost is a generous term."
"You fell with flair. I respected that," he replied, smirking.
She looked away quickly. "Don't flirt after trauma."
"I only flirt after trauma."
Rafe muttered, "You flirt during trauma. You tried to wink at that sentient whiteboard while it was strangling you."
Jax raised a finger. "And it hesitated, didn't it?"
The Awkward Proximity Conundrum
The cafe's electricity was dead, and the temperature had plummeted. They lit a circle of candles around a table, their flickering light casting long shadows.
Emily sat across from Jax, their knees brushing under the table despite the space. Every time it happened, one of them would twitch but say nothing. The air crackled—not with power, but with the kind of silence that dares someone to be brave.
"So," she finally said, staring at the artifact, "this thing reacts to emotional instability."
Rafe scoffed. "Then it should be screaming around you two."
Emily shot him a glare. Jax picked up the artifact.
"When we fought that compliance hydra," he said slowly, "I thought we might not make it. And I was… more scared about you than anything else."
She swallowed hard. "You don't get to say things like that unless you mean it."
"I mean it," he said. "I also mean to kiss you one of these days, assuming we're not shredded by an interdimensional ethics dragon."
Her fingers twitched. She looked down, then back up at him, eyes glittering. "You're serious."
"About the kiss or the dragon?"
"Yes."
Rafe groaned. "I'm leaving the room. If I get caught in a romantic tension explosion, I want hazard pay."
He stood, grabbed a scone that was probably a mimic, and disappeared into the kitchen.
The Investigation Begins
"Okay," Emily said, trying to reset her brain. "We need to figure out what the artifact wants. Why it's bonded to me. Why it activated during…"
"An emotionally revealing interpretive dance?"
She groaned. "Don't remind me. My soul still hurts."
"It was oddly graceful," he said, almost tenderly. "Your footwork was murdery, but elegant."
"Stop being nice to me. It's confusing."
"Good. Confusion is the first step toward acceptance."
"Of what?"
He leaned closer. "Us. Maybe."
She pushed back her chair but didn't stand. "You're insufferable."
"You're irresistible."
"Liar."
"Try me."
Their noses nearly touched. The candlelight wavered as if holding its breath.
Then the wall exploded.
Enter the Ex
Out of the dust and debris stepped a figure in red leather armor, wielding a clipboard that radiated malice. Her eyes glowed with supernatural disappointment.
"Oh hell," Jax muttered. "Sera."
Emily blinked. "Who's Sera?"
"My ex."
Emily's mouth dropped open. "You dated a Compliance Marshal?"
"She wasn't one when we met! She was just a mild-mannered soul reclaimer!"
Sera pointed the clipboard. "You are in violation of Code 666-B: Fleeing a Mandatory Emotional Growth Seminar."
Jax ducked behind a table. "It wasn't mandatory if it was a trap!"
Emily stood, furious. "You dated a clipboard cop?"
Jax gestured frantically. "It was a phase!"
Rafe reappeared holding a frying pan. "Should I be here or…?"
"Too late now," Emily growled, drawing a dagger. "Let's ruin her day."
Battle of the Ex and the Exasperated
Sera's clipboard launched policies like paper shurikens. Emily deflected them with sass and steel. Rafe drop-kicked a rogue policy about mandatory hugs.
Jax ducked behind a chair. "Why are you here, Sera?"
"You violated our emotional closure contract!" she screamed.
"That expired two years ago!"
"I renewed it telepathically."
"That's illegal!"
"It's romantic!"
Emily roundhouse kicked her into a shelf. "It's creepy!"
Sera vanished in a puff of frustrated bureaucracy.
Tension Rebooted
The cafe was half rubble, the artifact glowing ominously again.
Jax approached Emily, wiping blood and glitter off his face. "I never kissed her during training retreats, for the record."
"Shut up."
"I only dated her because I was trying to feel something."
"I said shut up."
He tilted his head. "But do you want me to stop talking?"
"No." She sighed. "No, I really don't."
He stepped closer. "Are we going to pretend this thing between us doesn't matter?"
"Are you going to kiss me or keep monologuing like an action drama protagonist?"
Jax grinned. "I like to keep you guessing."
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him in.
Finally, finally, they kissed.
The artifact flared, shook, and projected a holographic pop-up that read:
EMOTIONAL MILESTONE UNLOCKED: CHAOTIC INTIMACY – LEVEL 3. PROCEED TO THE NEXT TRIAL.
Rafe groaned from the background. "I hate magic HR."