“I don’t know who raised you, but you sure know how to pick ‘em”

“It’s too bad I can’t offer to clean in your place,” Nick said, still trying to break the icy shell around the fiery latina; an odd conundrum, to say the least. “It must be pretty rough for you, having to come up here every night and clean this whole place.”

Nick had been trying to come up with a way to engage Cinder in conversation for the better part of twenty minutes. But as the clock ticked closer and closer to the moment of her freedom, it seemed more and more futile.

The stink-eye Cinder was giving him was just the latest in a long line of such things. But it was still better than her lashing out at him.

“I used to scrub my fingers so raw that the pain would keep me from falling asleep,” Cinder coldly replied, narrowing her eyes. “Compared to that, this is nothing.”

Yikes. Another landmine. But while Nick expected Cinder to lose her shit on him after inadvertently drawing a comparison to her painful past, she didn’t. That was about as good as he could hope for, to be honest. Was he winning her over? Or was she so done with him she couldn’t even bring herself to get mad anymore?

Both notions seemed equally valid, which only made things trickier.

“Well… sorry about that,” he offered as a lame apology. The most he got back in response was a disinterested grunt.

“Are you done with bothering me yet?” Cinder went to go turn the curtains, even though the sun had already set. “I’m trying to work. You’re a nuisance. Why are you still talking?”

Her demands were almost polite. Which was another shock. Now, under normal circumstances, for a maid to say that to the owner of the home she was cleaning (which in a roundabout way, Nick technically was, maybe) would be unthinkable- but Cinder was no normal maid.

“…I’m sorry for bothering you,” Nick sincerely apologized. “If you want me to leave, just tell me. I’ll go right now.”

Silence. Punctuated by the frustrated grinding of Cinder’s teeth.

Nick wasn’t very handy when it came to subtle indications from people- he had countless interactions with women in his harem that proved that point several times over. But Cinder was so unsubtle in her nature that even he could spot the strange shift in her demeanor tonight.

“Are you done with bothering me yet?”

“I’m trying to work. You’re a nuisance. Why are you still talking?”

Harsh words, but they lacked the usual edge from the perpetually angry girl.

And more importantly- and what Nick had seized on- none of those statements were actually a direct request for him to go away.

Calling him a nuisance, saying he was bothering her, asking why he was still talking, all of those things under normal circumstances would be more than enough for anyone to get the message that they wanted to be left alone. If someone at a bar said that to you and you still kept pestering them, you’d probably end up with a drink in your face. But Cinder was the kind of girl who would throw a drink in your face before you opened your mouth, then break the glass and try to shank you with what was left of it.

So Nick decided to take her lack of an overt demand that he leave as a signal that she actually wanted him to stay. As twisted and backwards as that was.

The fact that she still said nothing filled him with further confidence.

“…Ugh.” It wasn’t quite a word, but at least it was a sound that made it past her lips. “Fucking whatever, fuck.” Those were words. Not nice ones, but words.

Progress.

“So… it’s okay if I keep talking to you?” Nick knew he was pushing his luck; probably a lot farther than he should have. But he wanted to get through to her somehow. He didn’t want her to keep hiding her feelings away.

The way her eyes flickered sent a chill down his spine. He braced himself for her to let loose on him this time.

But instead of snarls and curses, what passed the woman’s lips was a timid voice that sounded more like Ella than Cinder.

“…Why won’t you leave me alone?” She asked, glaring at him with watery eyes filled with fury. “Haven’t I given up enough to you?”

Nick didn’t expect a response like that. He looked at her in shock. “What? Why-”

“I’ve backed off!” Cinder raised her voice so sharply and suddenly it shook Nick out of his surprise. She started scratching her hair furiously. “I know how Ella feels, so… so I tried to take a step back, even though I can’t stand the thought of you! Even though I know you’ll just lead to more heartache, I was willing to give it a chance! But you just keep pushing! Isn’t that enough, huh?!”

She dropped the curtains and lunged at him, causing Kim to react. She was too far away to do anything, but she started towards the other girl, only to stop when she saw Cinder wasn’t going for the throat or anything like that.

The furious girl grabbed Nick’s shirt with both hands and glared up at him. The tears in her eyes practically steamed from the fire blazing behind them.

“I can’t take it,” she growled, whimpering like a kicked dog. “If you want Ella, isn’t that enough? Why do you have to drag me into this?”

The weight behind that question loomed over Nick’s head like the Sword of Damocles. The pain and anger in Cinder’s voice was tangible enough to cut him viscerally.

“…I’m not trying to drag you into anything,” he said finally, gently taking her hands and removing them from his collar. To his surprise, she let him go without a fuss. “Cinder, you are a part of Ella. If I’m going to get to know Ella better and have a relationship with her, then I can’t just pretend like you don’t exist. You are part of her as much as she is part of you. And while I’m grateful that you’re willing to ‘take a step back’ in your words to let Ella be happy, that’s not really helping her, or you. It’s just playing pretend.”

He took a deep breath before continuing, noting that Cinder had no response to what he’d said so far. “…You might hate me for saying this, but I don’t think either of you can really be happy unless both of you are. I’m not saying you have to fall in love with me, but if you’re just tolerating me for her sake, that’s only going to widen the gulf between the two of you and lead to more misery in the end, I’m afraid.”

Nick didn’t know the first thing about their condition. Everything he knew about multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder or whatever it was actually called came from TV and movies, and he couldn’t deny that colored the way he treated Ella and Cinder. But whether they were actual, distinct individuals or two aspects of the same person, it was clear that establishing a relationship with only one of them, whether romantic, sexual, or just generally platonic, would be a foolish endeavor if he couldn’t develop some sort of rapport with the other.

Maybe, on some level, Cinder and Ella agreed with him- because if Cinder really did just want him to be with Ella she could step aside right now and let her other side “take the wheel” couldn’t she? Or maybe it didn’t work like that.

Cinder’s hands trembled and she pulled away from him. She stepped back, letting the curtains wrap around her as she glared into Nick’s eyes.

“…And what about what I want?” She muttered to him.

Well… that was the question, then, wasn’t it?

What did Cinder want? Nick still had no idea. He’d been trying all night to get her to open up to him, but she evaded or rebuffed every attempt.

Maybe Cinder herself didn’t even know what she wanted, which seemed more apparent now than ever before.

Regardless, Nick had no answer to give her. He’d been doing well navigating the minefield up until this point, but he sensed that was over now. If he tried to push any further and try to figure out what she wanted, that really would push her over the edge.

So he kept silent. He let her question hang in the air as if it were rhetorical, even though it was not. And he hoped, in some twisted way, that she would be grateful for that.

But he kind of doubted it.

Seeing that he wasn’t answering her, Cinder let out the breath she was holding, and closed her eyes, blinking away her tears.

When she opened them again, no trace of her inflamed emotions could be seen. Just the cold sneer of a heartless woman. Even though Nick knew she wasn’t like that at all.

“…That’s quite bold of you,” she said with a venomous purr in her voice, approaching Nick. “Trying to win us both over. So Ella isn’t enough for you, then?” Her fingers ghosted over his shirt again, just barely reaching him without actually making contact. As if she was hesitant to touch him.

Nick remained static. If he did anything here, it had a strong chance of blowing up in his face. So he didn’t push forward, he didn’t pull away, he just let Cinder do whatever it was she planned to do, and hoped it wouldn’t condemn him.

“It’s so childishly obvious what you’re trying to do,” Cinder continued, glaring at Nick like he was the most detestable piece of garbage she’d ever seen. “You think you’re being subtle about it, acting like a regular nice guy… but I can see right through it. You’re just trying to win me over so I’ll lower my guard. So you can have Ella all to yourself. But I won’t let you do that. I’m the one protecting that girl from people like you.”

Her hands stopped moving as she finished talking. The only part of her still engaged with him were her eyes, which glowed defiantly in challenge to Nick.

The only signal he’d gotten that she wanted a response. He was hesitant to give it, but he did.

“…From what you said, I could already have Ella all to myself,” Nick quietly pointed out, hoping this wasn’t crossing the line. “You told me you were stepping aside, right? So I don’t need to ‘win you over’ in the first place.”

Cinder’s eyes widened in a sudden flutter of realization and she lowered her arms. She didn’t step back from him, though. She stood rooted in place, as if she were paralyzed on the spot from the sudden hole he’d punctured in her logic.

The fact was, if Cinder really was willing to indulge Ella’s desire to be with Nick, then hadn’t he basically won already? If that was his goal?

Cinder was just spouting BS and they both knew it. And now she’d been caught.

She stood there, seething, but not saying anything in her defense. For all her cunning, Cinder and Ella had very little formal education; Cinder in particular leaned far too heavily on emotional outbursts as opposed to genuine rhetorical debate, and that was coming to the forefront right this second.

“…Well, maybe you just like the idea of winning me over instead,” she muttered lamely. The bitterness in her voice showed that even she knew how stupid of a response that was.

Cinder lowered her head, unable to look him in the eye any longer. But she didn’t step away, either. It was like she was waiting for something.

Nick found himself feeling a strange sense of surrender from the other woman. As if she was acknowledging she’d been beaten. But he didn’t push the issue; Cinder may have dreamed up this fantasy that he was trying to wear her down and break her so he could do whatever he wanted, but he doubted she actually believed that. And as long as he could keep showing her how ridiculous that line of thinking was, maybe someday they could actually have something resembling a constructive relationship.

But he doubted that would happen tonight. The clock had almost struck midnight. …Well, six in the evening, anyway. Regardless, Cinderella needed to leave before her carriage turned back into a pumpkin and she was stuck here until morning.

“…I’m really glad I got to talk to you tonight,” Nick finally said.

Cinder’s head snapped back up and she looked incredulously at him. Of all the things she expected him to say, that clearly wasn’t one of them. She shook her head in slow disbelief.

It was like a spell had been broken. Whatever thread of tension that connected the two of them, that look of her snapped it in half. Suddenly she had no qualms about touching Nick again, and she pushed him aside.

“…Crazy,” she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief as she walked towards the door. “You’re fucking crazy.”

Maybe. Not that she was in any position to judge. Nick watched her go without trying to stop her, knowing that it would be fruitless at this point. Whatever moment they’d shared tonight, it had passed them by.

The only thing that stopped Cinder from leaving was a sudden interruption from out of nowhere.

“Dinner’s ready!” Mary and Dani walked out of the kitchen with Nola in tow. All three women had smiles on their faces, which was unusual, given how Mary had been reacting around Nola these last few days together.

“Finally, food!” Holly hopped off the couch.

Kim glanced over at them, appreciating the nice timing. But she also watched Cinder out of the corner of her eye.

Cinder hovered by the door, as if her feet had suddenly been glued to the floor. It was obvious how much she wanted to leave now that her shift was over- and there were literally minutes left on the clock before she was trapped here- but she still didn’t go.

“Shredded pork sandwiches,” Dani said as she and Nola set down the trays of food on the table. “And edamame as a side. It’s nothing fancy, but I made it myself.”

She looked bashfully at Nick and Kim. Lack of romantic interest didn’t make her any less hesitant about exposing her weaknesses to those she was close to.

Mary had other intentions. She walked over to Cinder with determined purpose, holding a brown paper bag in her hands.

She held it up to the stupefied maid.

“Here, Dani made some for you, as well, in case you were still here,” Mary said, looking kindly into Cinder’s eyes. “It’s really good, I tasted it myself.”

Cinder blinked rapidly, and looked at Mary like she was insane.

“Are you fucking loco?” Cinder snapped, furrowing her brow. “You think I actually want to accept your fucking pity? ‘Aw, poor Cinder, she threw up her dinner, why don’t we give her something nice to take home? Our fucking scraps, like a dog?’ Well, I’m not a fucking dog!” Her voice rose and rose as she let the anger she’d been building all night out on Mary, the easiest target. “You want me to meekly accept your little doggy bag with a smile, since you scraped together some shit from whatever you had left over?! Why don’t you shove it up your fucking culo, puta?”

Those words would have been enough to discourage most people, and tell Cinder she could forget it.

Which was probably why Cinder said them.

But Mary wasn’t most people.

She returned Cinder’s glare with one of her own, a look filled with firm disapproval.

“For the record,” she snapped, shoving the paper bag forward, “this was not my idea. Dani was the one who thought you might want something to eat after throwing up tonight, not me. I offered to give it to you because this is my home and that’s what a good host does, but this was a gesture of goodwill from Dani. Get it right! And it wasn’t scraps or leftovers either, she made it for you herself because she wanted you to have it just in case! Does that make it more palatable for you?”

Cinder stared blankly at Mary, frozen in place by the other girl’s harsh rebuke. She didn’t even have a reaction as Mary shoved the paper bag into her hands.

She just turned and looked pathetically at Dani, who gave her an awkward smile and an even more awkward wave.

“…Why?” Cinder muttered numbly. Mary doing something like this made sense, because the bleeding heart would do just about anything to be nice. But now even fucking Dani was extending a kind hand to Cinder?!

How was she supposed to respond to that?

Nick approached her, not sure if he could help, but wanting to stand up for Dani’s gesture.

“Cinder, if you don’t want it, don’t eat it,” he said. “But Dani made it for you. You should at least take it with you.”

Her last look at him was a glare. Her last word to him was a swear. But she left the Master’s Suite with the bag.

Cinder was in a foul mood when she returned to her room. Rose would have to be blind to engage with her.

“Hey, how was work?”

…But no one ever accused Rose of doing the smart thing…

Cinder turned her strongest glare towards Rose while considering several choice words to hurl at the blonde. But her fury rolled off the other girl like water off a duck’s back, so she didn’t even bother with it. She just muttered something under her breath and tossed the bag onto one of the desks in the Fashion Suite.

That drew Rose’s attention immediately. Her roommate didn’t usually come back with bags.

“What’s in the bag?” She asked curiously. As Cinder went to go change, she snuck over to the table to sneak a peek.

Her eyes lit up.

“Oh, hey! You brought back food? Nice, I’m starving!” Rose took a deep breath and let the delicious aroma of pulled pork fill her nostrils. “Mind if I have some?”

Cinder whirled on Rose with a look so murderous it actually made the blonde flinch. She stormed over and ripped the bag from the other woman’s hands. Rose barely managed to get away from her, stunned. She could have just said “No.”

“No, it’s mine!” Cinder snarled. She took out the sandwich and devoured it like a wild animal, savoring every bite.