The car ride to Ether Hills wasn't as insufferable as Karina had thought it would be, annoying opinionated blondes aside. She supposed that if she managed to tolerate Winter’s existence that used to be indisputably glued to her side back in preschool, middle school up until high school, a three-hour drive with her alone here and now would be a walk in the park.

Hence, she slept the entire time.

Because who was she trying to fool? 

The meeting last week was different and so were their back and forth at the café a few days ago. Being alone with Winter in a confined space, now with the history she once scarred and the past she bruised, was anything but a walk in the park. Karina had no doubt her mind would immediately jump into a boundless spiral had she been left to her own devices for merely a second.

So no. Karina loved herself enough to know how to prevent it and when to stop.

“Wow.” Karina muttered, her voice devoid of any positive emotion as her eyes landed on the place they were to stay at.

It was a cerulean blue two-story traditional suburban house with a wide open porch, a whole yard filled with green grass that was split by the driveway leading to the front door, and the classic white picket fence that wouldn't even stand a chance against a gust of wind. 

So much for high-end security.

“They really gave us the American dream,” her ‘partner’ murmured to her side.

“Winter, we’re Koreans . ” Karina, of course, stated the obvious.

“Who’s Winter?” Winter faced the taller woman with a wondering look.

Clenching her jaw, Karina’s gaze briefly traveled around the neighborhood, wincing internally when she noticed that there were actual people around—meaning she couldn't possibly incinerate Winter any time soon.

“Minjeong,” she tried, testing the way the syllables rolled off her tongue. Not bad. Not great either.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Mockingly fluttering her eyelashes, Winter took a step forward.

Naturally, Karina pretended like she hadn't heard the incongruous use of endearment. She knew that Winter was only doing it to get on her nerves, but Karina would never give her the satisfaction. She was competitive like that.

So she cleared , and stretched her smile wide (perhaps too wide to be true) at the younger woman. “Let’s just get inside,”

“Honey, would you mind carrying my luggage for me?” asked Winter, her eyes sparkling with mischief. She was standing in between two compact sized luggages with a rucksack on her back.

Karina turned around along with her own luggage and stared impassively at the blonde. “You can do it yourself.”

The detective was just about to pivot back to where she was supposed to be walking toward when a high-pitched shout was thrown her way, almost startling her.

“But darling, I’m pregnant!” Winter’s voice raised an octave high, one that was loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear.

Karina could feel all sorts of unfamiliar eyes casted to where she and her supposed pregnant wife were mutually eluded in a staring contest, one with a dagger (Karina), the other with a flower of facetiousness (Winter). With a surreptitious glare, Karina trudged over the blonde and heedlessly snatched one luggage from her hold.

“You’re enjoying this, aren't you?” she grumbled, earning a satisfied hum from Winter. 

Grunting as she pulled the handle upwards, Karina’s already infuriated face contorted into a deep frown. 

“Why is it so heavy?”

“Ah, I put our weapons in there. Including the grenades.” Winter answered nonchalantly as they walked side by side.

“You put our weapons– Winter!” Karina exclaimed in exasperation and came to a halt.

“Minjeong.” the blonde corrected.

“Minjeong! ” Karina snapped, the veins on her head almost popping. “You deliberately put five explosives in this luggage?”

“Relax. They’re not fragmentation grenades. And also, they were pinned.” added Winter as if that would be any help. Spoiler alert, it wasn't.

“I don’t care if they were pinned! You were being careless!”

“Where else am I supposed to put them? Your Prada purse?” Winter spluttered, her arms flailing around like an inflatable tube man.

The detective blinked, puzzled as she shook her head incredulously, a resigned sigh escaping her lips. “I can’t believe you’re an FBI agent.”

“Special Agent.”

Karina ignored Winter after that. 

She strode decisively to the house with two luggage in tow, and Winter quietly followed her tail. She rummaged through her purse in search of the house keys her captain had given her days prior, smiling in relief when it didn’t even take a while for it to dangle easily on her fingers. She slid the key into the keyhole all the while familiarizing herself with the way it clicked the lock open, resulting in the door gliding ajar.

The house’s interior revealed nothing but the fact that Karina would have to be running herself into the ground for the next few days or however long this mission might take. It had fixtures that hung firmly against the walls, and a perfectly positioned set of furniture to recline into when needed. The temperature inside was bearable as well, warm enough to sag some tensed shoulders but not cozy enough to mimic the comfort of home. Although it would probably take a while for Karina to grow accustomed to everything else it offered, she reminded herself once again that she was here because of a job. A case to solve, a mission to accomplish. 

The same could not be said for the ball of infuriating trouble next to her, though. As soon as they both slipped inside, Winter had already sprinted upstairs and called dibs to her preferred room that Karina could not give a tinker’s damn about. She picked the one with a terrifying size of window directed to what seemed like a forsaken forest behind the neighborhood, whereas Karina chose the one with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with no ifs and buts because why pick between needs and wants when she could have both? Anyhow, they left the master’s bedroom intentionally unoccupied, only to be used by themselves when an unassuming guest would come and take a look around for niceties.

“4211 Phantom Drive, Ether Hills.” A voice suddenly emerged from the kitchen as Winter made her way to the living room with a folder in her right hand and a chocolate glazed donut in her left. “That’s not too far from our house, is it?”

Karina looked up from the file she was reading through herself, racking her brain to recall where she had heard that specific address. “I think so? Isn’t that Johnny Suh’s address?”

“Yup.” Winter nodded, plopping down on the one-person sofa a few feet away from Karina. “Do you think we should check out his place later tonight? Maybe we'll find something interesting.”

“I thought the FBI would be the one taking care of that?” 

“Well, yes.” the blonde nodded, pressing her palm on her chest. “I am the FBI.”

Chuckling dryly, Karina casted her glance at her. “You know what I mean,”

“I’m being serious, though. The Director didn't search through it after the arrest because he wanted to leave things untouched and let us handle it.”

“You mean they just left it there hanging for a week? Unsupervised?” with disordered documents cluttered on the coffee table, Karina completely abandoned what she was supposed to be doing. “That’s foolish.”

“It’s a federal agency, so,” Winter murmured, letting the indication speak for itself.

Breathing out a sigh, Karina bored her suspecting gaze on Winter, tracing and wondering. As much as she’d hate to admit it, Winter Kim was considered a Special Agent for a reason. Going against everything that came out of just because Karina couldn’t stand her mere presence would be unprofessional and just plain stupid , and could most likely sabotage this entire mission, and that was the last thing she wanted. Besides, Karina herself had been thinking about doing the exact same plan that Winter had suggested hours ago, but akin to what she had mentioned earlier, she really did assume that the FBI would be the one to handle it. Surprise surprise, trusting the government was almost the same as throwing a penguin in the air and expecting it to fly.

“We’re leaving at ten.” she declared.

“Sweet!” Winter’s entire demeanor lit up, the irises of her eyes glinting with something that used to be so dear for Karina in the past.

God, she really needed to get a grip.

This Winter was not the same person she fell in love with back when she was a fool.

Minutes later, they both fell back to their own devices in silence. Winter had her gaze fixed on her jimmied folder while Karina was doing a very dedicated attempt on getting back to what had her so concentrated prior until Winter had practically charged on her (again, an overstatement, but what’s new?) unannounced.

Just as when the poor , distracted detective was finally able to re-focus on her scattered files and documents in front of her, her attention was yet again divided by a sudden knock coming from the door. She immediately lifted her gaze up to look at Winter, only to soon realize that the blonde already had her expression mirrored.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Karina frowned. “Open it!”

Winter blinked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Me? Why me?”

“Because I still have my gun under my suit?” To prove her point, Karina opened the left side of her blazer to show that she was, in fact, wearing a very occupied shoulder holster.

Though Winter’s stare drifted to the gun quickly, it looked like she really just wasn't in the mood to entertain a complete stranger today.

“But I'm pregnant!” she reasoned.

“I haven't changed my outfit yet! You’re the one who told me that I'm supposed to look like a yard guy.” Karina reasoned, too.

“And I’m supposed to be the shy, introverted wife.” said Winter in actual fact, widening her eyes at the detective. “You open it!”

A grunt and a defeated sigh, Karina eventually decided to be the bigger person. One of them had to, at least, or else they’d fall at the very first hurdle. She might have been ridiculously competitive, yes, but she was also a grown and matured woman who had successfully established boundaries and reasonable limits in certain circumstances.

Unlike Special Agent Winter, who was apparently too mentally pregnant to look at people.

“Fine.” Karina resigned, and Winter naturally grinned in triumph.  .

She was on her way to the front door when she heard the blonde’s footsteps immediately darting up the stairs the same time someone had decided to be an impatient little and knocked again, louder this time.

“Coming!” she yelled, adjusting her blazer to make sure she didn't look like someone who’d own a gun. She was a yard worker, after all. 

Exhaling through , she cleared before twisting the door knob open. 

Here goes nothing.

“Hi!” 

Like a bolt from the blue, Karina nearly had a heart attack with how excessively conspicuous this person–or these people had been. 

There were two of them.

And they were standing like two sturdy posts attached to the doorstep. 

The one on the left was basically buzzing with what seemed like utter excitement, while the one on the right was almost an inch away from going under Karina’s nose.

They both looked so… bright.

“I’m Ningning!” said the one on the left.

“I’m Giselle!” said the one on the right, a smile etching on her lips as she placed an arm over Ningning. “We’re your neighbors.”

Karina stood there helplessly, opening and closing m