Give Veronica what she wants

Jack decides why not give Veronica's idea a try since he couldn't think of anything better and starts typing into the "Make Your Wish" text field: "I wish that Veronica Komarova was 10 years younger." He hit enter and his phone screen lit up a blinding flash.

The flash burned white behind Jack's eyelids, a searing burst of light that made him jerk back in his chair. For a second, everything was static, the café sounds muffled like he'd been plunged underwater, his skin tingling like he'd touched a live wire. Then his vision cleared, and the world snapped back into focus.

And there she was.

Veronica... but not.

The woman sitting across from him still had the same sharp green eyes, the same dark hair. Her face was softer, rounder with youth, her lips fuller without the years of stress-induced thinning. The blazer was cropped now, showing a sliver of toned stomach above a high-waisted skirt that rode up her thighs when she crossed her legs. The deep V-neck revealed cleavage that Jack was sure definitely hadn't been there five seconds ago.

Holy shit.

"Thank you for the coffee, Jack," she said, her voice higher, lighter, and thick with an accent that rolled the R's in a way the old Veronica never had. She stirred her drink with a manicured finger before sucking the foam off the tip. "It's good to take break? Coding makes my eyes hurt."

Jack's mouth went dry. His head throbbed as new memories crashed into place: Veronica Komarova, 18, had moved here from Moscow just before the war really went to hell a few years ago. She was the new intern assigned to his team because management thought she'd "balance out the brogrammer energy." The way she'd blush when he corrected her code, the way the other devs nudged him when she bent over the printer in that skirt.

Fuck. It worked. It actually fucking worked.

"Hey Veronica, do you remember that app I told you about?" Jack's voice came out strained. "GenieUs?"

Veronica tilted her head, her nose scrunching in confusion. "What app? Genius?" She giggled, a sound the old Veronica would've rather died than make. "Is this a silly pick-up line?"

The old Veronica would've never suggested that.

"No, never mind..." Jack awkwardly replied.

Jack's phone buzzed on the table. The GenieUs app glowed, a notification pulsing: Wish #1 Complete. 2 wishes remaining. His stomach twisted. She'd asked to be younger, yeah, but not like this. Not as some wide-eyed kid who looked at him like he hung the moon instead of like he was the idiot who forgot to sanitise database inputs.

Veronica leaned forward, her cleavage pressing against the table edge. "You look pale. Too much caffeine?"

Jack **** a laugh. "Yeah. Must be."

She smiled, all white teeth and pink lips, and something cold slithered down Jack's spine. She had no idea what she'd lost. No memory of late-night deadlines, of promotions earned, of the sharp-tongued woman who'd once told the CEO to his face that his "disruptive synergy" idea was corporate word vomit.

This Veronica just blinked up at him, waiting for his next move.

What the hell do I do now?

The app weighed heavy in his pocket. Two wishes left. He could fix this. Probably. Maybe.

Or he could wish for something else entirely... the blood rushing to his pants certainly didn't help.

Across the table, Veronica tugged her skirt down over her thighs, her cheeks flushing when she caught him looking.

Fuck.