"Holy , that's what we brought that man in for? He assaulted Carly?"

"He didn't get to assault her because we were there, but he was brought up on charges of attempted and drugging."

"Holy balls."

"Try living it."

"You're ballsy, man. Really ballsy."

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome. What happened after that? Did Carly stay longer with you?"

"She stayed for a week and I eventually brought the package from the Halsey family back to her. She had nightmares the first couple of nights and we slept on a blow up mattress in my living room. She got less jumpy after I gave her the package."

"So, what was the package? The letter, some money and a ring?"

"Yeah."

"Why would that make her feel better?"

"The Halseys are known for two things - amazing lawyers and rigorous dicipline. Fredrick Halsey, the man who went to assault Carly, was the firstborn son to the matriarch, Elizabeth. She didn't take kindly to her son trying to assault an employee of hers."

"Okay. What does the ring mean?"

"Bloody hell, you're dense. She had his hand cut off and sent her the ring as a sign of his punishment."

"."

"Yeah. According to Carly, she met Elizabeth in person a few days after she left my apartment and Elizabeth promised to leave her son out to dry in the court systems. As it stands now, Fredrick has been brought up on attempted ual assault, drugging, criminal activity and murder and pronounced guilty with no parole. Elizabeth refused to send lawyers or money to her son and won't allow the case to be reheard."

"Why would she do that to her own son?"

"Because Elizabeth is a woman who had Fredrick by the same manner of action that lead him to his position."

"Oh balls."

"Those are the main culprits."

"Hot damn. So then what?"

"Carly did Elizabeth's jobs. She showed up at my door occasionally after nightmares and eventually, with no ties left to each other case-wise, we started hanging out."

"Just like . . . regular people?"

"Something like that."

"I really don't believe you."

"You loss then, I suppose. You'll just have to take my word for it, because Mark doesn't know about this part of our relationship."

---

"You know, I can honestly say that I've never seen a crime family do this sort of thing. I never expected Elizabeth to actually keep her promise."

Carly looked up from her white hot chocolate. "Why not?"

"Quite literally, because she's a crime matriarch and Fred was one of her best henchmen."

She shook her head, her leg tapping his under the table. "Mmm, nah. Lizzie's not like that. Her family was horrible to her, so she doesn't take blood relations as more than they're worth. She trusts me more than her own daughters."

Jaebum's mouth fell open. "I really find that hard to believe."

"It's true. She treats all her children like associates. Everyone at arm's length and cards close to her chest. It might be why they're all so screwed up."

He huffed out a laugh. "I think you're onto something there."

She shrugged. "They're all grown and that's something for their therapists to decide now. I'm certainly not going to say anything."

"I don't blame you. It's been a couple of months since Fred was sentenced to prison. How've your nightmares been?"

She shrugged again, this time not as cheekily. "Not great. I don't get them too much anymore, but it seems that when I do have them, they're really bitterly intense."

He frowned, reaching across the table and taking her hand. "What happened?"

She shook her head. "Not here."

"That bad, huh?" The coffee shop was empty, save for the two young baristas manning the counter and completely wrapped up in a conversation about smartphones. 

Her voice dropped even lower. "Yeah. In fact, I don't want to talk about it at all."

"Are you sure? It really helped you the last time we sat down."

"Yeah, not this time. I just want to forget about it." She shook her head again, but this time like she was trying to shake the memories out of it. 

He took the cue. "How's everything else, business-wise, been going?"

"Not much, not much. It seems since the Orestias went down followed by the Halsey scandal, they're all taking a breather to reevaluate themselves. That's what they said, anyway. I know they're going and hiring others to see if they can get someone as good as I am to replace me."

"Replace you?"

"Someone who won't cooperate with the police." She elaborated. "But they won't. I'm the best in the state and they know it. Once they're done their test fishing for new talent, they'll come back to me and business will pick up again."

"Happen often?"

"This isn't the first time I've cooperated with the police. And like I said, I've got a lot of long-term clients who know how I operate and carefully work around giving me information. Halsey's one of them. Lizzie doesn't tell me a thing about her plans and she works with me directly, keeping most of her actual force hidden. Lizzie is a very calculated person. If there was someone better for the job, she would have gone to them and I would know."

"Well, I mean, as long as you're not looking for a part-time job soon, or anything . . . "

"Oh God no." She laughed. "I've got more money than I know what to do with right now. I would never need to work like that."

He wrinkled his nose at her. "Mind sharing some of those riches with me? I could use some help with my rent sometimes, you know."

She wrinkled her nose right back. "I'll consider it."

He shook his cup and found it empty. She went to take a sip and pouted when it came back empty. "Wanna go somewhere else? It's not exactly stimulating in here."

"It's not, is it?" She surveyed the empty shop, eyeing the bored baristas for a moment before looking back at him. "Where were you thinking?"

"Well, it's not exactly stimulating, but I have some errands to run? There's dinner in it for you back at my place."

"Neat. I'm in then."

"You walked here, right?"

"Yeah, I did. Why?"

"I just didn't want you to leave your car."

She giggled. "You're sweet."

"Huh?"

"You just assumed I'd want to ride with you."

He blinked, suddenly nervous and lost. It felt like he'd overstepped some comfort boundary. " . . . Wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would! I'm just messing with you." She was grinning when she reached across, smoothing out the lines between his brows. "You're really cute when you're flustered."

"Yeah, well, you're the only one that throws curve balls like this." He retorted, trying and failing not to sound like a child. 

"C'mon then, Jaebummie~, we have errands to run and you've got a dinner to take me."

He heaved himself out of the seat, cutely glowering at her as they left. "Why do I put myself in these situations with you? I set myself up for failure."

"Maybe, but I like it, so that's all that matters." She bumped his hip with hers, nuzzling into him when he threw his arm around her shoulders. 

He snorted. "Yeah, it probably is."

---

Jaebum and Carly wound up arguing over the merits of organic green tea the whole time they were in the grocery store. It changed to how plastic money was better as currency than paper money and how just one colour made it hard to tell money apart.

"I'm just saying, I lived in Canada for a year and a half and it was really helpful that all the bills are different colours." She defended.

"And you've lived in the States long enough to get used to just green money."

"I haven't, though! I keep thinking it's a twenty when it's actually a one and the cashiers look at me funny!"

"It could also be because you're a walking disaster zone. How you manage to look so good all the time baffles me."

"You're such a great liar, telling me I look good all the time." She jibbed, poking him in the side as he tried to open the door with arms full of groceries. 

"You want to be a pain in the , then you open the door. You've got a key."

"I think you're doing just fine." She chuckled. He grumbled half-hearted swears under his breath, knowing she was making faces at him the whole time. 

He did manage to get the door open, staunchly ignoring Carly's little cheer and leading them into the kitchen. They dumped the bags onto the kitchen table, him sorting out the things he'd need presently for dinner while she put away the rest then plopped herself down at the table, idly watching him. 

"I still think organic green tea would really help you. It makes my skin as clear as the sky."

He snorted. "Nothing short of a disappearance of stress will clear up my skin, mom. You sound like Mark, telling me I'm not handsome enough to be his partner."

"I never said you weren't handsome. You would just be more handsome with clear skin."

"You are literally impossible."

"And yet, you like me so much that I have a key to your apartment. I state that knowing that your best friend and partner, Mark Tuan, does not."

"You're impossible, but Mark is unbearable."

"He can't be that bad."

"You drive him home next time he's blackout drunk and sentimental, see how much 'friendly' groping and kissing you can stand before you leave him on the side of the road."

"You left Mark on the side of the road once?!"

"Of course not, but I was seriously considering it. I actually stopped the car when he reached up from the backseat and touched my junk."

" . . . Like, a friendly pat or a full wrap around?"

"Try a vice clench." He was very satified to see her wince. "Yeah. Not such so cute after that, huh?"

"You make a fair point, my friend."

"It was a real test of our friendship. I passed, but he doesn't remember."

"He doesn't?"

"No. But I made sure that he has proof it happened."

"You need to show me."

"Maybe if Mark ever really pisses me off, but not until then."

"I can dig that."

"Get me the celery?'

"Okay."

Jaebum took the time in the ensuing silence to recognize how much of a newly-married couple they sounded like. He didn't manage to come to terms with it. 

"Have any idea of what kind of movie you want to watch?" He asked instead.

"Jaws? Everybody I talk to says its a classic, but I've never seen it for myself and I want to see if it's actually worth anything, since Spielburg is a real hit-or-miss kind of director."

"Sure. It should be on my Netflix."

"I'll go see. Should I start it if I find it?"

"You can. I won't be long."

---

"How is that a classic?!" Carly ranted, pacing around the apartment as Jaebum changed the sheets on his bed, preparing for sleep. She was still here, so it was likely she was staying the night again. She'd stolen one of his shirts already and had showered. 

"What did you find so wrong with it?" He knew, but it was best to let her rant and get it out of her system or she'd want to talk about it tomorrow too.

"Firstly, did he even think to research sharks? Like, does he have any idea how they actually work? Sharks bite things, but they don't chew and their teeth aren't designed to pull and tear. Did they take a look at a crocodile and think 'Well, that's good enough'? And sharks don't reverse! They can't swim backward! And once you hurt them, they run away! They're not aggressive like that, even Great Whites. Honestly, I'm not asking for full scientific perfection, but the least you can do is not insult hte general public."

"You do realize that film terrified people for years. Thousands of people stopped going into the ocean because they were afraid of shark attacks and the US almost legalized their hunting because of that movie."

"Are you ing serious?!"

"No joke."

"Wow." She paused in the middle of the room, mouth flapping like a pedal-bin lid. "I feel so bad for anyone publicly educated in America."

"You should."

"Like,- You- You can't be serious."

"I totally am."

He tucked in the last of the sheets and she very rudely flopped down onto the freshly made bed. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh my God."

He shurgged. "Mass media's like that, Carly."

She shook her head. "Nope. I don't want to believe that. You and me are going to sleep now and we're going to pretend all of that never happened."

He snorted. "I haven't even showered yet."

"Then go shower so we can hurry up with the process."

He ruffled her hair with a smirk. "You're so needy. You're making me breakfast tomorrow."

She rolled onto her stomach, eyes narrowed. "You use that coconut shampoo and you've got yourself a deal."

He winked, pulling his shirt off and throwing it onto his laundry pile. "Deal then, sweetheart. Arrange the pillows and I'll be back out in a minute."

She blew him a mocking kiss and got to work. 

Inside the shower, as he lathered up the coconut shampoo, he considered what life choices had lead him to this point. Their borderline less romance was getting a little too close to the lines and he really didn't know which way he wanted it to go. He was free of obligation to her, no longer bound by his duty to keep his hands to himself or restrain hers. They could very easily fall into bed together (for ytimes now, not just friendship cuddles and sleep) and maybe even enter a relationship. And yet, something in him kept him from crossing that line. It was like he was waiting for something, but he wasn't sure what. They both wanted each other and they both knew it. The only question now was what to do about it and he just couldn't decide. But it would be poetic, woudn't it? A cop falling in love with a borderline-criminal.

Hilarious. He decided. It would be hilarious.