"How old are you?" Candace asked.

Anxiety flared up and tightly gripped Jack's lungs. Maybe the cards were some sort of magical vampire-detector. But wouldn't she have hinted at some of her clients being not-so human? She'd never given him any weird looks regarding his bad decisions being worse than normal bad decisions.

"Older than I look," Kieran admitted with an easy smile. "I'm swiftly approaching forty-five, if that helps."

Jack wanted to kick Kieran. A fifteen year age gap was a bit much. There would be no way for him to escape Sam's side-eying. Granted, three-hundred was much worse and certainly worthy of Sam's judgment over Jack's bad taste in men.

"Right. Ah…" Candace glanced at Jack, who immediately looked away. "Well."

"Can I trust him?" Jack asked. The faster he could get her away from thinking about Kieran's age, the better. Even if he looked like a jerk, it had to be better.

"This is a reading for him, not you," Candace said with an irritated sigh. "It doesn't work like that."

Kieran reached under the table and lightly set his hand on Jack's knee. "Then what does my spread have in store for me?"

"Well…" Candace regathered herself and focused her attention back to the cards. "The past has left you pretty emotionally scarred," she said as she tapped on the Seven of Swords.

For the life of him, Jack couldn't recall what the card supposedly meant, considering he'd seen it enough times. Someone running off with a handful of swords didn't mean much to him unless it symbolized collecting trauma like trading cards. He looked at Kieran, trying to gauge his reaction. All he saw was a vague interest.

"True," Kieran replied.

"And there's a lot of it. Like, a lot." She waved her hand over the spread in an exasperated gesture Jack was all too familiar with.

"Again, true, but I'm certain Jack's described me enough to imply my own tragic past for outsiders," Kieran said. His smirk was teasing and challenging as he met Candace's eyes.

Candace narrowed her eyes at Kieran for a moment, frowning. "Well, the past likes to circle back, and it's circling back," she said, a hint of snippiness leaking into her voice. She sat up straight with a sniff as Kieran's smile dropped.

"The past has already made his presence known," Kieran said tightly. He glared down at the cards, looking over the spread as if he could strangle Augie through the table. "Jack must have mentioned him."

"No, that's the reversed Six of Wands. Harmless, persistent, and annoying," she said, waving her hand dismissively over the card in question. "Just talk to him, and he'll move on. Communication should fix that problem. Hopefully. I'm talking about the Devil and the Ten of Swords. This could make or break you depending on how you deal with it."

"I had been under the impression the Devil represented independence?" Kieran said, his voice slowly losing its confidence.

Jack had the same thoughts, and Kieran's uncertainty only made him more anxious about the reading. If calm, collected Kieran was wary, then what did that mean for Jack? What did it mean for their relationship?

"Reversed, it can," Candace replied with a nod. "Upright? We're looking at vices, addiction, some pretty negative stuff. Swords? Betrayal." She tapped her nails on the cards. Her own huffing sigh of disappointment was enough to drag Jack's mood down even further.

Stolen story; please report.

"I see. Any suggestions?"

"Keep an eye on your loved ones. I can't tell if this is mischievous or malevolent."

Kieran frowned and looked from the cards to Candace. "So not in regards to myself?"

Jack already had an idea that Kieran was fighting against his own nature, and he was an idiot to trust a vampire to resist crack when it was right there. Both Augie and Farragut had shown him how tempting he was. Even Kieran had tried for a quick taste, and that had ended in its own flavor of embarrassment.

"This is coming from without, not within," Candace said, shaking her head.

Kieran's shoulders relaxed, and he let out a slow breath. "I suppose that's one positive."

"It's me, isn't it?" Jack said, jumping to the worst conclusion he could. It would be neither malicious nor malevolent, it would be accidental. "I'm gonna fuck this up again. Am I gonna accidentally kill him in his sleep? Food allergies? I'm sorry ahead of time."

"I forgive you." Kieran smiled and lightly patted Jack's shoulder.

"What? No. You're still sitting here, waiting for the world to fall on your head and chop it off," Candace said, tapping the Nine of Swords. "For the record, that's not going to happen. You're good for him. He's good for you. Jack's attached to the Six of Swords." She pointed to the pair of cards, one partially hiding the other. "I see you two moving forward and overcoming past traumas together." She gave Jack a meaningful look before turning her attention back to Kieran. "But it's for you, not him, so… Yeah. Your reading. Not couple's. Today."

Jack sent her a dirty look, and she ignored it. It was nice that someone was out there rooting for him, but he couldn't help but feel like she had some ulterior motives.

"But I do encourage a couple's reading in the future," she insisted. "I don't wanna come off as pushy, but I really think you guys could use it."

"I do have my own past relationships that had interesting outcomes," Kieran admitted. "I don't wish for them to encroach on the present." He sighed and shook his head as he sat up. "I'll focus on this for now, thank you."

"As long as you keep the Devil and Ten of Swords at bay, I see this turning into a long lasting and loving relationship," she said, her tone seeping with a mystical air. "After the hurdles."

Kieran's eyes darted to Jack, and he raised a brow at the distasteful pout being aimed at the table. He glanced back at Candace, and she rolled her eyes. "Thank you. I suppose I'll err on the side of caution."

Jack's eyes remained glued to the spread. The words "long lasting" echoed through his mind. How long lasting? Would he even consider it? Words floated past him as Kieran questioned Candace about Mr. Six of Wands. Why did Kieran and Augie commit to such a life? Kieran seemed to carry plenty of regrets about his decision, and Augie was a flippant little asshole who needed to jump off a cliff.

He zoned back in to catch Candace's advice on communication techniques.

"Be forward. Direct. And for the love of fuck, put your damned wishy-washy foot down," she said with a firmness that had Jack blushing.

Kieran's lips tightened, and he nodded. "I thought I had, but I suppose I could have done better."

"Be firm, but don't lash out. Lashing out can mean there's something still there to rekindle. There's still a passion," Candace said as Kieran reluctantly nodded along. "And no moping. Moping around doesn't do anyone any good. Just look at Jack." She waved to Jack and all his misery plainly painted on his face. She smiled apologetically and leaned toward him. "Sorry, sweety, but it's true. You're doing better, and I'm so proud of you."

Jack shrugged, unable to fight that others saw him as useless. But he was doing better. Candace wouldn't lie about that. He clung to the sentiment like a lifeline.

"Thank you, Mi—ah, Candace," Kieran said, pulling Jack from his spiraling thoughts. "This has been enlightening. I regret to say that Jack never mentioned how much I would owe you. I'm assuming you accept credit card?"

"I gladly accept store credit and will happily work within a trade and barter system," Candace said, whipping out a business card.

Kieran laughed and nodded as he took Candace's card. "Certainly. We can negotiate a trade."

Candace grinned in triumph. "I'll be in by the end of the week. Come back any time."

image [https://i.imgur.com/eZY0YUq.png]