Jack sat in uncomfortable silence across the kitchen table from Candace as she slowly flipped over each tarot card in succession. Death made an appearance, and he distracted himself by studying the small changes that had been made to the kitchen since the last time he'd seen it.

Someone had decided that seafoam green was a good choice for the walls, and that it apparently needed starfish and seahorses stenciled as a border along the ceiling in a navy blue. He was afraid to find out what would greet him in the bathroom. The same familiar white appliances sat nestled between white cabinets with pale blue doors. He narrowed his eyes at the starfish-shaped knobs.

Candace had added to her collection of window sill herbs, and the small potted plants had broken their quarantine to spill out onto the surrounding surface around the window and sink. Lace curtains framed the window, letting in the fading light of the sunset, and he chose not to focus on the lace's nautical pattern.

Candace's black cat stared at him from within the kitchen sink, judging him.

"Overall, not a bad spread," said Candace, drawing Jack's attention. "For you."

"So it's still bad."

"Not necessarily. If I knew more about what's going on, I'd be able to give you more insight," she said as she set her stack of cards to the side. "Big changes, some secrets, potential f—"

"So you think he's hiding something."

Candace sighed and leveled Jack with an even stare until he lowered his gaze to the tarot spread. "You're both hiding something."

Jack slouched further into his chair. He knew what he was hiding from Kieran. But what sort of skeletons were mucking about in Kieran's closet? Rationality caught up to his churning thoughts and stomach. "Everyone has secrets on some level."

"These are pretty big secrets, Jack," Candace said, tapping the Seven of Swords. She pointed at the Hermit then Death. "Revelations will lead to big changes and decisions. Not bad, but big."

He reminded himself that he confessed his lack of sexual attraction and desires to Candace in a drunken haze about a year ago. And how reluctant he was to tell others. It still did little to calm his nerves. "So I shouldn't string him along."

"Soothing your loneliness isn't stringing him along. Has he made any moves?"

Jack shrugged. "Not really. Kinda? I just… I don't know what to do! He's all about light touches and smiling and… And he didn't push for more even though everything was set up for that, and I'm just confused!" he confessed, laying out his frustrations.

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"Do you like what you're getting so far?"

"Of course I like it! I fucking love it, but that makes it worse! It's gonna get ripped away. I just know it."

"Well, the Nine of Cups says differently."

"A fucking piece of cardstock isn't gonna tell the future. I already know how this goes." Jack slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms as he glared at one of the starfish-shaped knobs on a cabinet. "He's gonna start wanting more, and I won't deliver. Or he's gonna turn out to actually be a creep-creep and not just spooky-creepy."

Candace sighed and looked down at the tarot spread. She ran her finger along the Ace of Cups. "You're just sensitive to the supernatural. Maybe he's a practitioner. It could be that he dabbles in seances. You always get edgy after I've had a seance."

In Jack's opinion, anyone would be edgy around a table littered with animal skulls and half-melted candles. He held his tongue and kept his thoughts to himself. "Maybe he's cursed. Maybe I'm cursed."

"You're not cursed. Not exactly. But I wouldn't go so far as to say you'd be able to live a normal life," she said airily as she twisted her hair between her fingers. She slowly started bringing the lock of hair toward her mouth but dropped it with a bright smile under Jack's hard stare.

"I'm sorry. What?"

Candace ducked her head and gathered up her cards. "Your readings always come up weird," she admitted. "Like you're a magnet or something. You, uh, attract things. Like a siren calling out to sailors."

"A siren," Jack repeated. No, it was just a coincidence. Even Tara got the magnet explanation for her ability to rake in assholes. Candace had just managed to remember a more mystical word to use. "And instead of everyone else crashing into the rocks, I'm the one drowning. Nice."

Candace pressed her lips together as she absently shuffled her cards. "This could be good for you. A chance to see that not everyone has completely bad intentions."

"It's not gonna last, so why should I even bother?" He narrowed his eyes at a white candle sitting in the middle of the table. "What do you mean by completely bad?"

Candace floundered for a moment, almost dropping her cards. "Well, uh… I mean, I think he's after something, but not anything obvious," she said with a shrug. "Not bad, not good. Not sex, so you're in the clear there."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I doubt that. Just cuz he hasn't tossed a condom at my head, doesn't mean he isn't interested."

She stood and moved to stand beside Jack, pulling him into a hug. "You won't know if you don't try. Just give him a chance. He might surprise you."

"I don't like surprises," Jack grumbled. "Fine. I'll give it a go, but I'm running every little thing he does past you."

"Deal," she replied, kissing the top of Jack's head. "We can start right now. I just got some new oracle stones that I can't wait to break in!"

Jack groaned and let his head fall to the table.

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