Isha, Jinx, and You
Sevika sat in front of you, huffing impatiently as you worked on a malfunction in the arm Jinx made for her. It wasn't too serious; only a stuck crank. It had jammed earlier in the day, and Jinx brought her to you to fix it. You were to replace the internal function of the crank so that it wouldn't get stuck as easily. You weren't as skilled with mechanical parts as Jinx was, but she had insisted you did it, so here you are. You didn't particularly enjoy the way Sevika stared at you, but you didn't speak up about it. If Jinx trusted her, then you supposed you would too.
You could hear Jinx behind you at her desk, explaining something about explosives to Isha. You could hear little giggles from her every once in a while. It made you smile. You loved seeing (and hearing) them interact. You were glad Jinx had found Isha, and that Isha found you. When she stumbled upon you, you were alone in a bar with nothing of importance in your life. She brought you to Jinx, begging her to keep you, to let you stay. Over time, Jinx stopped simply tolerating you for Isha and caught feelings, even though she never would've admitted it if you hadn't. Your relationship started rough, mainly because of both Jinx's trauma and your own, but it got better. Now, you wouldn't ask for anything different. You had someone to live for, instead of floating around in life. You may have been breathing, but you weren't alive until you met the two of them.
"You thinking of her?" Sevika asked you, catching the smile on your face. "You're always smiling and head-over-heels about that woman."
I chuckled nervously. "Not always." You say, hoping Jinx didn't hear Sevika call you out. If she did, she'd tease you mercilessly until the end of time, never letting you hear the end of it. "I can be nonchalant."
"I don't think it's your strong suit." Sevika replied, smirking slightly. She was eyeing Jinx with her eyebrows raised. "And I think she knows that." You roll your eyes, but your flushed cheeks speak for themselves. You continue to work on her arm silently, fumbling with the screws. You had finally managed to switch out the worn parts with new ones, but now you struggled with the tiny screws that needed to be as tight as possible. You bit my lip in concentration, trying to make your movements meticulous and accurate.
Jinx's arms suddenly wrap around your neck. You drop one of the screws as she leaned against your back and rested her cheek on your head. "Jeez, buttercup. Why are you so tense?" She said, reaching up to poke your forehead. You sigh and manage to catch the screw in your lap. You pick it up and twist it in your hands.
"I'm fine, Jinx, just trying to get this done. Someone insisted that I do it, despite my inexperience." You say to her pointedly. She would've been done by now, but it took you twice as long just to put the damn screws in. At this point, you started to get frustrated, which made your hands even more unsteady. You huff, irritated, as the screw drops into your lap again. Just as the screw hits your thigh, Jinx's hands are picking it up and gently prying the screwdriver from your right hand. Her chest is still pressed to your back as she leans over you and screws the last bit in with little to no effort. Your eye almost starts twitching. What the hell.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I know how hard using a screwdriver is." She says jokingly, moving around to drape herself across your lap. Isha is standing idly next to the chair you're sitting in, smiling like the small, adorable goof she is. You smiled at her and moved her helmet around gently atop her head. She giggled.
"Is it done?" Sevika asks. She's already standing to leave.
"All done. Please leave a five-star rating on our app." Jinx replies sarcastically, to which Sevika rolls her eyes and walks off.
"Don't have too much fun, lovebirds." She says as she walks out the door and shuts it behind her.
Jinx has adjusted herself, sitting on my lap with her body faced toward Isha on my left. She reaches her arms out, and Isha jumps into them. Isha sits criss-crossed in Jinx's lap, fidgeting with some sort of device you assumed Jinx gave her earlier. One of your hands rests on Jinx's lower back, rubbing circles on the bare skin there. Some days, Jinx didn't want to be touched at all, and others, she initiated it and gave you the green light to touch her. Today was one of those days, and you cherished it. "What's that?" You ask them, gesturing to the device.
Jinx smiles at you. "I'm teaching Isha about different bombs I've made. This one is the first she's made on her own."
"And you thought it was a good idea to put a dangerous explosive in a child's hands?"
"Oh, shush. It's a dud." Jinx moved hair out of Isha's eyes. "You had fun, didn't you, kid?"
Isha nodded and hummed happily, tracing the designs on the sides of the devices and emphasizing them to you. "You made those?" You ask, signing with the makeshift signs you taught her a while back. She responds with a happy nod, pointing to the desk. You turn your head to see scribbling drawings mildly resembling the designs on the bomb, and you laugh. "I'm assuming you helped her a bit?" You say, looking at Jinx. She punched your shoulder playfully.
"She did it all on her own, because her drawings are great. I barely helped her. Not even enough to count."
"Oookay, buddy." You grin and roll your eyes dramatically.
Your legs were getting numb, and yet you've never felt so content with people before. You looked at Jinx, admiring her eyes and her hair and her skin. Admiring her everything.
I'm in love with her.
You know it's true when her eyes finally meet yours. "Like what you see?" Jinx teases.
"Love it actually. Best view I've ever had," You reply.
"You're so corny."
"You know you love it."
The way the corners of her mouth tilt up prove your point perfectly, despite the way she rolls her eyes. "Oh, whatever."
You look at the paint splattered clock hanging crookedly on the wall. It's way past Isha's bedtime. "Time for bed, Isha," You say gently, patting Jinx's back to signal her to get up. Isha whines in response as Jinx stands up, holding her in her arms. She pouts.
"The sooner you sleep, the sooner you can build more bombs with Jinx tomorrow." You sign to her, although you don't exactly want to condone the weaponry. Whatever will get Isha to bed. She argued about it every single night.
Isha perked up at that, as you thought she would. She was still irritated about having to go to bed, but she did it anyways, although begrudgingly. She loved building things with Jinx much more than she loved staying up late. You pat her back and give her a smile, signing goodnight as Jinx takes her to her bed in the blanket fort the three of you made a couple months ago. After a while, Jinx returns with no Isha in her arms.
Jinx's lips crash into yours before you realized what was going on. She pushed you backwards until you felt her desk behind you. Her hands wrapped around your neck as her nails scratched your neck gently. This was unusual. She rarely was so bold. You weren't complaining though, and your hands found her waist to grip her skin. Her lips moved against yours with passion. You followed her lead.
She broke away after a little while. There was something in her eyes you couldn't place, and she looked at you with a hopeful yet fearful expectancy.
Was this the right time? You hadn't told her you loved her yet, and neither had she, despite dating for six months. It sealed your relationship with her in a way you knew she wasn't quite ready for, and you made sure to give her time and patience. She had been crushed by the weight of abandonment for so long, you knew you had to give her time and let her initiate things on her own terms. You didn't mind. You would wait for her forever.
It's time. Hopefully. You move your thumbs in circles on her skin, as you usually do. "I love you, Jinx." You say in a whisper.
She looked at you silently, and you could see she felt the same. You could also see the uncertainty in her eyes. "I...love you, too."
"You don't have to say that if you don't mean it. I just wanted you to know."
She kissed you then, cutting your words short. It was quick, but she got her point across. "I said it 'cause I meant it. Don't make it a thing."