"Nothing, it's just…" Omen averted her gaze, "Just tell me you'll be careful."
"You know, I will," Ajax smirked confidently. "Besides, even if I did die-"
"Shush," Omen placed a finger on his lips. "Don't say that."
A mischievous smile stretched across Ajax's face, "Or what?" His arms snaked around her small waist, pressing her curves under his palms. "What're you gonna do about it?"
Omen's luminous cheeks turned bright red, "I guess…" Her fingers brushed his lips before moving past his jaw and holding onto his neck. "I'll just have to shut your mouth myself."
"How would you do that?" He whispered in a low tone, his lips ever closer to her face.
"Like this," She lifted her hand heels and pushed her lips on his.
They got into a fiery kiss, tongues dancing, teeth clacking, and saliva mixing, trailing down their lips. His hand reached down to squeeze her bottom, but just then—
"EW," They quickly separated after registering the incoming voice from the door. "Jesus! Ugh god, bleach my eyes!"
"C-Christy? I thought you left." Ajax stammered while wiping his lips.
"I so wish I had," Christine rolled her eyes. "Halfway on the road, I realized I forgot to bring my third bag, so I had to come here and watch something that will be in nightmares for decades."
"Tch." Omen clicked her tongue, scowling, "Nosy brat."
"Mom!" Christine said, her voice louder than it already was. "He is like, half your age. Touch grass, date someone your age." She admonishingly shook her head, dropping her twin duffle bags and going upstairs to retrieve her bag. She paused at the second step, pointing at Ajax, "And you. AJ. You're dropping me off at Sarah's. I will be late if I catch a bus now."
"B-but," Ajax's eyes reflected betrayal and crushed hope, he turned to Omen, "But..."
"You better get going," Omen said with a wry smile.
Ajax groaned, "You're right."
He walked towards the stairs and saw Christy pulling on a suitcase half her size and twice as wide. "Want me to hold that?" Ajax pointed his thick fingers at the bag.
Christy gave him a small smile, "I thought you'd never ask, bro."
Ajax grabbed the suitcase in one hand, and lifted Chistine's two duffle bags by the strap in the other, "Let's go."
——————
Ten minutes after receiving some vague directional cues from Christy, Ajax asked for some clarification. "Where did you say Sarah lived exactly?"
"Take me to my uni, I'll direct you from there," Christine offhandedly said. She had her legs raised on the dashboard, as she fixed her make-up with a pocket mirror.
"Right…" Ajax nodded with skepticism, he could sense something fishy was going on here. He switched topics, "How long will you be staying at Sarah's anyway? What's with so many bags."
Christine abruptly stopped and clasped her folding pocket mirror. "...You really want to know?" She muttered in a whisper.
Ajax rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, you're not actually going to Sarah's because she doesn't exist—I know that because all your friends ask for my number, and those who don't are clearly imaginary—instead, you're trying to move in with some guy you like because he is nice, and listens to you, and isn't as controlling as Omen. Right?"
Christine chuckled a bit at that, "You know what? Surprisingly, you're almost right."
"Tell me about it," Ajax's lips curved into a proud smirk. "I won't stop you, in fact, I encourage you. It's important to change your surroundings to get a new perspective on things, people, and life in general. As long as you know why Omen is the way she is, and you keep me posted, I'll keep Omen off your bum."
"Eh," Christine groaned, "that's not the part I'm worried about."
"Hmm?" Ajax hummed, suddenly getting a bad feeling about this.
"You're right for the most part, except for one teeny tiny detail," she pointed at him, pinching her thumb on her index leaving a minuscule space between them. "I am not moving in with some guy, I am moving in with you."
"Ugh..." It took a second for Ajax to process this, and then he asked for confirmation, "Come again?"
"I want to move in with you," Christine said with an even expression.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ajax furrowed his brows, unable to comprehend his step-sister's words.
"I am leaving the house–"
"What in the–"
"Just let me finish," Christine interrupted Ajax. "I want to hunt. Do shit. Make a difference."
Ajax inhaled a sharp breath, "You are making a difference. You're attending university precisely to make a difference."
Christine scoffed, "I'm attending university to become a corporate slave, and you know it."
Ajax stayed quiet. After dealing with a suppression field, abruptly confessing a major life decision to his significant other, accepting a job he didn't want, just when he thought it wouldn't get any worse—it got worse.
"...I am fed up with being a part of "society" while knowing what my family deals with." Christine paused to take a break, a smile stretching across her lips, "I want to explore the world, hunt things, travel places, and have fun. Like you. And who better to learn from than one of the best hunters in the world?"
"No," Ajax let out a tired sigh. "You don't understand. None of that is the point of all this. Hunting isn't a joke Christy, it's not supposed to be fun, I make it sound fun because I omit the boring parts."
Christine tried to protest, but he continued before he could.
"The reason you're part of the normal society is because it protects you, and people like us protect it from the preternatural threats." He looked at her with a soft expression, "You're a normal person Christy, educate yourself, find love, and get a job instead of having these dangerous and borderline suicidal thoughts."
Christine gritted her teeth, her voice rising an octave, "How the fuck am I supposed to get a job when I know people like you who can just create money out of thin air exists!"
Ajax frowned, "Is that what this is about? You find it unfair that I can get things with barely any effort, while you have to work rough hours for them?"
He pondered about this, if that was the case then… given that I will retire soon, I'm not against giving up my ability to make money for an honest-to-goodness job.
"You think I am jealous of you? Hell no, AJ," Christine objected vociferously before her previous tone dimmed down a little.
She looked down and whispered. "...Do you know how isolating it feels to be the only one in a family of literal superhumans? Do you know what it's like to pretend to be ignorant about the things behind the curtain while regularly talking to those who are actually ignorant of it?"
She lifted her face, eyes glistening, "D-do you have any idea what it's like to be told by your own family that the monster under your bed is real, your brother and mother will protect you from it, but they will never, ever tell you anything about it because you're a fragile fucking human and you should be protected?"
"I–"
"It hurts," Christine said between stifling gasps. "It hurts more than any breakup I've ever had, it hurts more than any test I've ever failed, it hurts more than any opportunity I've missed. And, I know you will tell me how none of that even comes close to the real dangers of the world, but–"
"I won't." Ajax raised his hand and gently caressed her soft cheeks, before pinching them. His eyes darted towards her distinctly blue outfit and make-up, "Did you wear blue because I once claimed it's my favorite color?"
Christine let out a stammered chuckle, "...Is it working? Are you slowly leaning towards the idea?"
Ajax sighed, "Does Omen know this?" He suspected she did, given that she was the best human cleromancer in the world.
"No. I… don't think so," She hesitantly thought for a second. "I haven't told her, and she hasn't confronted me about it. That's all I know."
"Well,"—Ajax spun the driving wheel, Cuddleberry drifted, taking a smooth U-turned—"we'll discuss more at her place. In the meantime, have some refreshments, gather your thoughts. You'll have some explaining to do once we get there."
"Thanks," a choked sound escaped Christine's lips, she gave him a relieved smile before picking up a can of soda. "Hey, AJ?"
"Yeah?"
"...It was the blue aesthetic that sold it, right?"
"Nope, not even for a second."
"Aww. It's fine, you don't be shy about it."
The foster siblings bantered all the way to the home, very much enjoying each other's company.
Ajax, in particular, despite being previously disheartened about today's events, began to consider the bright side of things.
After all, in a day, he had made more progress towards retiring than the last year. He thanked the gods that his sister came to him to talk instead of leaving first. And, even though he can't be sure, he had a good feeling about the upcoming case.
A feeling that was quickly drowned by Christine's intense wails of panic, and the confusion, sorrow and grief he felt after parking his car in front of Omen's house.