Your faith was strong, but you needed proof, you saw her bathing on the roof

Nick was definitely surprised when he made it back to the Master’s Suite. But it wasn’t the surprise that Mary (or rather, unbeknownst to him, her echo) had prepared for him.

“Ella!” His eyes widened when he saw the latina waiting for him in the middle of the suite, dressed in her usual maid outfit.

“I-I almost forgot,” he said sheepishly, scratching his head. In the back of his mind he’d probably assumed that she would be getting the night off because of how difficult the challenge had been, but apparently the producer wasn’t so generous.

Given what he’d done to Dakota and how he’d twisted Nick’s childhood friend into a monster through emotional manipulation, maybe that should have been obvious.

“See?” Holly sat up from the couch and smirked. “I told you, he and Mary have some really romantic stuff planned…”

Her voice trailed off as her eyes slid past Nick and towards the empty doorway. “…Okay, but- where is she, though?” Holly asked, frowning.

Nick sighed and scratched his head. “It’s… well, after our date-”

“The one you invited Rose on,” Holly interjected, raising her eyebrow and giving Nick a frosty look, reminding him that it wasn’t the coolest thing to do. As sexy as Holly may have found the idea of her beloved master with a gorgeous woman on each arm, she cared more about Mary’s feelings than her own libido.

“…Right, but Mary said she was okay with that,” Nick countered. “And before you say ‘Mary would say that even if she didn’t feel that way because she’s such a sweet person’ I know she would. But she did mean it. She was really worried about Rose and wanted to help cheer her up after that disastrous challenge.”

Nick knew his wife better than anyone, after all.

Holly sighed. “Well… knowing Mary, I think you’re right,” she admitted. “So what were you saying about Mary being gone?”

“She said she had a surprise for me and slipped out of the elevator,” Nick explained. He blushed inadvertently as he though about what such a “surprise” might entail, and noticing that, Holly couldn’t help but smirk.

“Oh yeah, I bet she did,” Holly giggled, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly.

Nick rolled his eyes. Honestly, he should have expected something like that from her. Why was he even pretending to be surprised at this point?

“Um…”

Ella tapped Nick on the arm to get his attention. That was a surprise. Nick didn’t expect her to be so forward, physically-speaking. But he was glad to see it, it meant Ella was getting more comfortable interacting with him, right?

“Yeah?” He asked, turning to her.

Ella bit her lip.

“…So you guys… have a romantic evening planned together tonight, then?” She asked, trying not to sound too disappointed.

“Yeah, we do,” Nick said, nodding.

Ella tried not to pout, but she didn’t do a good job of hiding it. “…I see.”

“I’m planning to cook for her, actually,” Nick said, scratching the back of his neck. “I mean… she always works so hard for my sake… I should at least repay the favor at some point, right?”

“Oh, wow!” Ella’s eyes widened behind her bangs and her face lit up. “You’re going to cook for her? That’s so romantic…” she said, a little jealous.

“Nick…” Holly stared at him in shock. “…I know that we can’t die or get seriously injured on the show, but still, don’t you think that’s a little risky?”

“I can cook!” Nick glowered at her as she covered her hand with her mouth and giggled. “I can! I lived on my own for years after college, you know!”

“Oh, so you consider microwave TV dinners to be cooking, okay, this is all making sense now,” Holly said, nodding.

Nick glared at her. “Take it back!” He said, storming over to the couch.

“What? No, never!” Holly stuck her tongue out. “Tell you what, why don’t you have me taste some of this so-called ‘cooking’ of yours, and we’ll see if you really deserve the title of ‘master’ chef, master? Hmm?”

Nick was annoyed by Holly’s taunts, but he wasn’t going to let her get to him. Instead, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her over his shoulder.

“H-hey! Lemme go! How are you so strong!?” Holly pouted, squirming a little, but not putting up much of a real fight. She was actually really turned on by Nick getting physical with her like this, even if it wasn’t for sex purposes.

“I’m not that strong, you’re just really light,” Nick replied. Actually, she wasn’t that light at all. In fact, he could only keep bear the weight for a couple more seconds.

Luckily he didn’t have far to go, and dumped her unceremoniously in her cage.

“Oh noooo… not here, this is the last place I would ever want to be,” Holly loudly “complained” as Nick turned the lock.

“You’ll stay in there until Mary gets here, then I want you to leave,” Nick said. Then his tone softened as he realized how that sounded. “…Sorry, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean to sound so-”

“No, I get it,” Holly interrupted him, shaking her head. She leaned forward and cradled her chin in her hands, beaming at him. “You guys have a romantic night planned together… I wouldn’t want to be there to get in the way. It should be just the two of you!”

Nick smiled. He was glad Holly understood.

“I’ll just say in the Luxury Suite, then, with Ella!” Holly said, turning and gesturing to the maid in the corner, who had been quietly pouting at being left out this whole time. Ella HAD poked Nick on the shoulder for a reason, after all, and had TRIED to get his attention because she had something she wanted to talk to him about! But he’d ignored her!

Well, she wasn’t being ignored now.

“Huh!? But- that’s MY room now!” Ella sputtered, her eyes widening behind her bangs. “Why do you want to stay in my room!?”

Holly looked at her incredulously. “Uh, because it’s the Luxury Suite?” She said, rolling her eyes. “Meaning it’s the nicest room in the hotel?”

Nick couldn’t really disagree with that logic.

“Which means the floor has to be the most comfortable!” She added. “Much better than sleeping on grass or frosting in one of the other suites.”

And you’re just assuming you’d sleep on the floor, then? Nick thought, rolling his eyes. “You know you could share the bed.”

Holly flashed a toothy grin. “I’m used to it this way.” She patted the mattress on the bottom of the cage. “Much comfier.”

“Ex-excuse me!” Ella finally had enough, speaking up. Or more like shouting. She was so loud that she even startled herself, and when Nick and Holly both looked at her in surprise, her face turned scarlet with shame.

Holly whistled. “Wow, finally raising the roof, huh?” She laughed.

Ella turned red but kept going. “S-sorry for shouting, but… first off!” She pointed at Holly. “If you want to stay in my room, that’s fine! You can even sleep in the bed! I’m not-I’m not going to throw a fit and say you can’t!”

Nick thought she was already kind of throwing a fit right now, but thought better than to say it. Like Rose, Ella had gone through quite a bit too.

“You sure about that?” Holly raised her eyebrow curiously. “Have you ever shared a bed with Gina before?”

Ella looked at her in confusion. “Huh?”

“…Nothing, never mind,” the petite girl said, coughing. “Anyway, you were saying?”

“R-right.” Clearing her throat, Ella turned to face Nick next, her amber eyes practically glowing with determination.

Nick was surprised to see her looking at him like that.

“What’s up?” He asked hesitantly.

Ella narrowed her eyes. “You… um…” she bit her lip. “I… I wanted to ask you… something… I tried to, but…”

The conversation had somewhat gone off track thanks to Holly being a gremlin. And the courage Ella had worked up before now was starting to wane.

She felt Cinder in the back of her mind, screaming at her to stop. But Ella couldn’t give in and let her other self take over right now!

So she grabbed her wrist and snapped her rubber-band hard.

“Thwap!”

Jerking her head up from the sting, she met Nick’s eyes again, reinvigorated.

“Did-! Did you see?! During the challenge!” She practically shouted. “Did you see me!? Like-! Like that!? Did you!?”

Nick stared at her for a second, startled. “H-huh?!”

“I-I heard from the others… that… I was completely naked!” Ella wailed, her face flushing with shame. “Then I was in that skimpy, see-through thing-! I just need to know, did you see me like that!? Did you-!?”

She covered her eyes, not wanting to see the answer written all over his face.

Nick blushed. “Well… …No, I didn’t,” he said sincerely.

Dropping her hands, Ella snapped her head up and looked at him, eyes wide. Her mouth opened in a perfect “O” of surprise.

“You… you didn’t…?” Relief escaped her in a sigh like air leaving a balloon. It looked like she shrunk a full inch.

Nick shook his head. “Well… I know how these challenges usually go, and there was enough buildup that I saw what was coming, so I looked away,” he explained. “So don’t worry, I didn’t see you… looking like that. Even though you were Cinder at the time.”

“He didn’t see you naked, he means,” Holly clarified. “But he probably definitely saw you both in the skimpy lingerie.”

Ella turned crimson and stiffened up straight. But- she could live with that.

“Oh… okay,” she swallowed, nodding hesitantly. She glanced at Holly again, then looked back at Nick. “Then, um… about the… the other thing…”

Nick tensed. So there was more she wanted to talk to him about? Well… …fine, he could keep going. He nodded. “Yeah? What is it?”

Ella fidgeted with her rubber-band a bit, but she didn’t snap it.

“It’s about… paying Cinder back,” she said finally. “Remember? Your promise?”

For a second, Nick didn’t know what she was talking about. Then he remembered his date with the both of them, and how it had gone. Now it was his turn to blush. “Oh, you mean… the kissing, right. I have to kiss her as much as I kissed you.”

“And the other stuff,” she said, not backing down on that. “It wasn’t just kissing!”

Nick realized now why Ella had looked so embarrassed when he’d first entered the Master’s Suite, and why she’d sort of jumped when she saw him. So that was where her brain had gone…

“Ella…”

“So, well, we can’t do it now,” Ella quickly clarified, shaking her head. She looked down. “I wanted to… but… you’re doing this whole big romantic thing with Mary tonight… and it would just be kind of… not fair…”

“Aww, Ella!” Holly clasped her hands together. “Look at you! You’re being so considerate! How sweet, you don’t want to steal Mary’s spotlight!”

Nick agreed, that was pretty sweet of her.

“Yeah, considerate,” Ella muttered under her breath. Holly was completely off base. Consideration and camaraderie had nothing to do with why she’d suddenly changed her mind like that. The reason was a lot simpler.

Whatever it was that Mary had planned for Nick tonight, it was definitely going to knock his socks off. She didn’t know the other woman very well, but she knew that the two of them were in love and that Mary didn’t do things in half-measures. So even if Nick and Cinder kissed, it would probably only be a footnote in the evening of Mary and Nick’s intimacy.

Even if it was her alter, Ella had her pride, and she knew Cinder did as well. Neither one of them wanted to be upstaged by something like that. So their plans would have to change.

She looked hesitantly at Nick and hoped he’d be okay with that.

“So… is that alright?” She asked timidly. “If the two of you, um… if you just… postpone it until later, then?”

Ella knew that she kept putting off their time together, but it was fine. Her night with him was pretty early in the round, so she could afford to wait a little bit longer. Everything would be all the sweeter for it, she was sure.

“Okay,” Nick said, nodding. “Whatever you think is best, Ella.”

Ella pouted again. He could have resisted a little bit, she thought bitterly, secretly wishing that Nick had put up a fight and expressed that he wanted to make out with Cinder tonight, no matter what Ella had to say about it.

But she knew he wasn’t that sort of guy.

“Thanks,” she said instead. “I’m glad you’re not… just dismissing it.” Ella looked down. “I know that things are kind of… weird… between us… you and me, I mean… after all… I’m not, um… I’m not the easiest person to, uh… well… you know…”

She fidgeted with her rubber-band again, having difficulty getting the words out. Why was it so hard for her to tell him?

But she eventually summoned the courage and raised her head. “I… I’m going to keep trying, for my sake and Cinder’s. And… I want to make this work!”

After a long and aggravating day wandering through a labyrinth, the last thing Ella had wanted to do tonight was go up to the Master’s Suite for some cleaning. But when she thought about how Nick would be there and she would see him, suddenly it didn’t seem like such a big deal. She had even been looking forward to it.

Maybe that made her weird… she didn’t really know. But she knew that she felt disappointed that he was thinking so much about Mary tonight, and not all that much about her, even though she was the one here and Mary wasn’t.

No, I can’t get jealous, that’s not fair, she reminded herself, snapping her rubber-band with a “Thwap!” to calm her nerves. Obviously he cares about Mary more. They’ve known each other longer and They’re in love, and he’s just trying to make her happy. But he definitely still likes me… even if it’s not in the same way as her or Rose.

A dirty feeling welled up in Ella’s heart, one that took her a second to recognize. It wasn’t just jealousy, it was something else.

Like… longing.

Ella wasn’t the most scholarly person, so lacking much formal education, she didn’t know the word to describe what she was feeling. But if she explained her emotions to someone else, they would identify her feelings as “possessiveness”. Ella knew better than to make a scene or throw a fit, or do anything else that Cinder would have done, but in her heart, she wanted Nick to look at her the way he looked at Mary.

I came here because I wanted to experience romance in my life, before everything came to an end, she thought, her heart aching more the longer she stared at Nick. But… I didn’t really think about how it would go. I didn’t expect my feelings to be like this.

Ella really liked Nick. Maybe it was because he was nice to her and didn’t judge her for having a split personality. The way he treated both her and Cinder like they mattered and deserved respect meant a lot to her- it was something even she had trouble doing in regards to her alter. If Ella had to pick a reason why she liked him, she would choose that one.

But she couldn’t ignore the possibility that she liked Nick because he was the only man she knew, and thus she felt obligated to feel this way towards him. Unfortunately, her emotions were too jumbled to say one way or the other.

At least for now, anyway.

“Um, I… I should really get cleaning,” she said, feeling light as a feather and yet heavy in the heart at the same time. “It-it doesn’t count if I’m not cleaning, so…!”

She scurried off to grab the broom, needing something to cling to in order to maintain her balance. If she didn’t, she was afraid that she might collapse. Her legs were still a little weak from all the walking she’d had to do today.

Nick watched Ella rush off, and found himself wondering whether or not he’d handled that properly. Ella wore her heart on her sleeve (quite literally if one took her rubber-band into consideration) but he felt that her common emotional outbursts were just part of the equation. There was also a side of her that she kept to herself, not sharing even with him, and he didn’t mean Cinder.

It was like whenever he had a conversation with Ella, there was a wall blocking up part of her heart. A part of her that he just couldn’t get a good read on. And it was hard to interact with her while taking that wall into consideration.

But he didn’t want to rush her, and he certainly couldn’t blame her, given what she had gone through and what she dealt with due to Cinder. So he accepted that side of Ella as just another part of her, and didn’t push.

“Aww… you probably made her cry, you heartbreaker,” Holly said sarcastically. “Just kidding. If any part of her is getting wet right now, it’s not her eyes.”

“Holly,” Nick groaned, rolling his eyes at her vulgar comment.

Holly just laughed and shook her head. “Come on now,” she said, shooting him a look. “You know that girl’s falling for you hard!”

Nick opened his mouth, about to reply to her, but he was cut off.

“UM! You know I can still hear you, right!?” Ella squeaked from across the suite, clutching the golden broom tightly in her hands. Her face was as red as a tomato.

“I know, that’s why I said it so loudly,” Holly called back to her.

Nick sighed and rolled his eyes. “Holly, don’t mess with her, okay? She’s had a hard enough day as it is. You both have.”

Holly decided not to tease anymore. Nick was right, anyway. It wouldn’t get her anywhere, even if was really fun. And besides, Ella was being nice, letting her sleep in her room. She shouldn’t be so antagonistic towards her.