Breakfast at a big house

The kitchen was twice the size of Aaron's living room. Feeling the marble under his feet and the twin ceiling fan lights was ethereal. It was like he was in a mansion. It wasn't, of course, but the sensation of wealth seeped into his mind nonetheless.

Hadiyah had made falafel-spiced dhal with eggs, smoky eggplant and zhoug. He wasn't acquainted with Arabic cuisine but he was open to trying it. The young woman was already sat, moody but patient.

"Thanks for making all this," Aaron said.

"Will Jaina be coming?" Hadiyah asked. Aaron shook his head. Hadiyah inhaled sharply. "Of course."

She was acting normally but also not. It was a complicated set of instructions he gave her during her hypnosis. One, anything he did would not be considered strange. Two, she would keep quiet about their relationship and Jaina's secret identity; and three, she would inform him of updates in any investigation she was conducting. Hadiyah was under his control and she didn't even know it. It was perfect. It was unethical.

'I could just make her forget all this. I could just move on.' But thinking about the potential dangers of Leviathan made him pause. Aaron had never been someone who trusted others. The only individual he could really trust was himself and….Cassandra, if he was being honest. He didn't want to risk it.

The food tasted amazing. Spicy but savoury and he asked for seconds. Hadiyah supplied without a remark. Once their plates were empty, they took to the sink. Washing dishes was easy with two people. Wash and dry. Wash and dry. Her sink was massive and her drawers were so vast she just needed to shove them inside. Conversation was dry. Neither of them were social butterflies, after all.

"Where will you go after this?" Hadiyah asked.

"Work. It's a Wednesday." He checked the giant clock on the wall to his left. "I'll have to leave in about half an hour."

"I see."

Hadiyah, in her baggy trousers and hoodie, wasn't a sex object. But Aaron felt his balls ache regardless. Plus, he had taken the day off yesterday because of Riko and Izzy. His supervisor was sure to dump a bunch of work on him. It was going to be a long day. He needed something to jumpstart him.