Lets Compare Lengths (of our resolve, of course)

Ever since my one year anniversary celebration, I’d been trying to coax the approximate date of Jun’s arrival on Oeuvre -their death day- out of them to no avail.

They’d been unnecessarily -although not uncharacteristically- stubborn about the information and I had a feeling they were withholding it only to be contrary since they’d get a stupid little smirk on their face every time I tried to surreptitiously bring it up in conversation.

Cyans had been easy to find out since all I had to do was ask and she’d answered truthfully; Calliope and Atlas had provided their dates unprompted once they’d overheard the direction our conversation had gone so there was no further need for investigation there either.

But the Auspice had been uncooperative and was still refusing to give me even a hint about theirs.

To my complete surprise, Cyan even admitted to not knowing when I’d asked her in a moment of exasperation a couple weeks after I had begun trying to find a way to chip away the hypothetical lock Jun had placed on the tidbit of information I was interested in.

That was fine, I’d find out myself no matter how many lengths I had to go to. It wasn’t a matter of pride and will now and I would hold out longer than Jun. (I could look up their file but we’d both somehow arrived at the conclusion that it would mean defeat on my end and victory on theirs so I most definitely would not.)

When I’d informed them of my resolve they’d laughed -the twit- and their eyes had gained a sparkle that looked alarmingly similar to Cyans as they leaned forward in a show of true amusement and grinned at me; one hand holding their hair back easily with a couple fingers and their other arm laying flat on the desk to support themselves as they leaned close.

“I look forward to the next few seasons you remain on Oeuvre until Replacement, I have no intention of loosening any give on my end unless you do something truly surprising. Let it be known Jin, I have not been surprised for a long time.”

I was a small bit ashamed to say, but my supposedly bold comment being handled in such an easy way made me need to take a much needed break in the practice room so I could blow off some steam by way of vigorous cleaning and assembly; and if I muttered darkly and uttered a few choice words about the obnoxiousness of Elves who were always put together and ridiculously smug while I did, the practice room was mine and there was no one who could hear it.

And if no one was there to witness my grumbles, who could claim that they really happened? Exactly.

The very miniscule amount of free time I had between Cupiding, Auspice training, and the occasional help I gave to Calliope just to add a few extra ‘credits’ to my Sentinel Rotation, I poured as much effort as I could into brainstorming ideas that would surprise Jun enough to get them to reveal the answer to my inquisitions.

The whole debacle itself was becoming much more important than my actual curiosity for answers and the title of my brainstorming quickly morphed from ‘plan to learn when Jun came to Oeuvre’ to ‘ultimate plan to surprise Jun.’ I wasn’t sure how that had happened, but it had and I was highly invested.

Jun and I -and Cyan, of course- didn’t stop our usual routine just because the Auspice and I now had this extra rivalry hanging over our heads.

The Fairy had initially found the contention between us funny until it dragged on by months and the flame of our interest still hadn’t died down; I was only growing more invigorated the more times I failed and Jun had been -dare I say- happier the more effort I put into my unsuccessful schemes.

The Auspice had been smiling a lot more often much to everyone’s delight or horror depending on who you were; I was glad to see their face in any expression that wasn’t a passive one when I wasn't frustrated up to my ears that their reason for amusement was my failure. Besides that, I was overall mostly -sometimes- happier that the outcome of our… thing was having a positive effect on them.

Even though I was frustrated by their stubborn antics, I found myself smiling a bit more too; a lot of grumbling and words muttered under my breath that I would speak and immediately look at Jun to make sure they had heard and reacted, which they did more and more with either a flash of delighted blue eyes, a quirk of their lips, or a quiet ‘hmm’ that meant they were laughing.

Here were a couple of things I’d tried so far and how the scenarios had played out:

I’d been almost certain that bribery would’ve worked at first as I dug up a recipe for a fruit tart from the Oeuvre ‘Earth’ database and collected the approximates of ingredients together so I could make it. I Manifested the ingredients that Oeuvre didn’t have a close substitution for and acquainted myself with the cafeteria area kitchens I had never seen; apparently, there were Heralds who took comfort in cooking their own meals or used baking as a form of destressing between paperwork and being out on their respective Tasks.

I wasn’t sure how I’d spent over a year without knowing there were a variety of kitchens -from all different planets and walks of life- just a door away from where I ate all my meals.

I chose an industrial style kitchen that looked straight out of a magazine, standing in awe of all the sleek stainless steel and clean expanse of countertops somehow pristinely spotless and free of any dust or debris.

I hadn’t been too bad at baking while I was alive so my first try didn’t turn out too bad. I wanted this to be perfect -it was a bribe, after all- so I tried again, and on my second tart I was satisfied with everything about it. The crust, the custard, the fruit, and the whipped cream on top was all ‘just so’ enough for me to be adequately appeased.

Jun had immediately stopped what they were doing when I proudly set the tart on the table between us, grinning smugly as I set the plates and forks I had brought with me down beside it but made no move to begin serving.

“So, feel like telling me anything?”

Their gaze had snapped to mine suspiciously, understanding dawning on their features as they quickly replaced their hands -and attention- back on their paperwork and resolutely looked away from the tantalizing tart I had set quite deliberately in front of them.

“...no, I do not.”

I took great satisfaction in the way their gaze flicked to the sweet even though they were staring very intently at their papers, lips pursed tightly together like they were fighting the urge to lick them. I almost felt guilty when I saw them swallow a couple times and I was sure I had won when they stayed on a single page for far too long and sighed; a true sound of discontent.

To my surprise -and utter disappointment- Jun held steadfastly strong and pled work to excuse themselves earlier than they usually did, giving a polite nod to both Cyan and I before disappearing towards their office.

Dejected, I cut myself a piece of tart and consoled myself in sweet custard and tangy fruit all perfectly brought together by fluffy cream and flaky pie crust. It was perfect and Jun was definitely missing out.

Cyan, Calliope, and Atlas sang their praises to my baking skills as they practically inhaled the remainder of the tart; I managed to save the last piece for myself since I had been the one to expend all the effort to make it and I would need it if I was going to be sulking later on while I tried to concoct a new game plan.

Guilt won over in the end and, when Jun was busy performing Auspice duties in the main building and I was headed towards my room for sleep, I snuck back into their office and left the piece of tart on their desk with a glass cover over top of it and a fork placed perfectly parallel to the plate, just like they had done for me when I had first arrived.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I felt almost flushed and skittish from my actions as I shut their office door behind me and quickly willed myself to my room, flopping onto my bed with some paperwork I had to force myself to pay attention to.

I may have not succeeded that time, but I’d continue to try until I did.

There was absolutely no way I would lose.