Eidolon

Warning (PG16)

This episode contains adult themes. Reader discretion recommended.

When they left the store, Cillian was laden with at least six huge, translucent shopping bags in various colors, looking both exhausted and profoundly relieved. Rei, meanwhile, was beaming, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She was already wearing the bamboo-patterned pants, the fluffy troll sweater, and a pair of bright color-block sneakers from their haul.

“That was just like a movie, wasn’t it?” she chirped, her eyes sparkling, “So cool!” Cillian, back in the familiar, solid comfort of his brown suit, adjusted his tie with difficulty, the bags swaying around his shoulders. “I’ve never missed my suit more,” he commented dryly, “After wearing a shirt with psychedelic octopuses on, I think I understand how comfortable you must have felt in those pajamas.”

Rei laughed, the sound echoing in the mall’s atrium. “I’m sorry for putting you through that ordeal,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. She fished out a silver contact card from one of the bags and handed it to him, “Here. It’s Astrid’s details. You could call her, tell her that I dumped you for a football player or something.”

Cillian laughed, a short low sound, but he didn’t take the card, “How about we focus on that lunch you promised instead?” Rei hesitated, looking down at the card in her hand. Astrid was stunning and had clearly been taken with him. With a slight shrug, she slid the card into one of the bags holding his new clothes. “I saw a sign for a bistro with a view of the fjord,” she said, her tone shifting back to more neutral ground, “It should be on the top floor.”

They rode the escalator up in silence. Rei was acutely aware of a new tension settling over Cillian, a quiet that felt different from their easy banter just a few hours earlier. It was heavier, more contemplative. She left him to his thoughts, focusing instead on the passing shopfronts until they reached the bistro.

The restaurant was decorated in the current Scandinavian interior design trends: glazed multicolored brick walls created a textured backdrop, while the furnishings were minimalistic with various types of natural wood. The large windows offered a stunning, panoramic view of the fjord, its deep blue waters a calming contrast to the vibrant chaos of the mall below. 

They were seated at a table by the window. Rei immediately buried her nose in the menu, giving Cillian the space his brooding quietness demanded, while the madness of the photoshoot hung between them as clearly as the view. They ordered. Rei picked a salad and an ice tea, Cillian beef steak with fries and a beer.

The silence at their table stretched against the low hum of the bistro. Rei watched him cautiously, his gaze fixed on the bar as if he could mentally accelerate the arrival of his beer. She finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you mad?” she asked, her voice softer than she intended, “Because I roped you into that photoshoot?”

Cillian didn’t reply immediately. He finally turned from his beer-watch, his green eyes meeting hers with a startling directness. Then he sighed, a sound of weary resignation. “As much as I want to be,” he said plainly, “I’m incapable of staying mad at you.”

Rei fumbled with the water glass she was lifting. She recovered and set it down with a quiet clink, her head tilting as she studied him. The realization didn’t dawn slowly; it struck her like lightning. She had assumed his tension was about Takumi’s jealousy, about the professional repercussions.

But it wasn’t. It was because he had liked the story they were pretending to tell. It was because, as he’d confessed on the flight from Mirage, he wanted her, and the photoshoot had been a cruel, glittering taste of an alternative life where that was possible.

She swallowed hard, turning to look out at the fjord, the sunshine glittering on the water like a thousand scattered diamonds. Though she didn’t want to twist the knife, she had to acknowledge it. “I got carried away by the fashion glitz,” she explained, her voice trembling slightly, her eyes fixed on the view, “It was insensitive of me to play pretend like that without thinking of… I didn’t mean to disregard your… I’m sorry.” 

When she forced herself to look back at him, his gaze was more arresting than ever. There was a deep, profound softness in his eyes that enveloped her; not anger, not regret, but something dangerously close to love. Her breath hitched. She grabbed her water glass, closing her eyes as she drained it, needing a barrier against the intensity of that look.

Cillian still didn’t speak, but a melancholic smile touched his lips. Just then, his beer arrived. A bright, genuine smile replaced the weary one. “Thank God,” he exclaimed, taking a long, grateful drag from the frosty glass. He set it down with a contented expression. “Relax, Rei. Though the clothes were even weirder than your pajamas-chic, I did end up having a bit of fun”, he met her gaze again, the charge still there, but now tempered with acceptance and a mutual understanding, “Even if the narrative was both too far and… too close… for comfort.”

The food arrived, breaking the spell and allowing a familiar ease to slowly seep back in. As they began to eat, Rei managed a tentative smile. “You know, when they photographed you wearing abstract art prints, you carried yourself with surprising dignity.” Cillian speared a fry, a smirk playing on his lips, “Says the woman in a sweater embroidered with a creature that looks like it wants to eat my soul.”

He then, with a perfectly straight face, used his fork to gently push a large, perfectly grilled piece of beef from his plate onto her salad, “Here. You need more than lettuce. You’ve had a big day terrorizing the fashion world.” Rei looked down at the unexpected offering, a wave of fondness washing over her. She decided to tease him back, “What’s this? Motivation? Are you implying I have potential as a fashionista?” 

Cillian took another sip of his beer, his eyes twinkling, “Call it a strategic investment. If you’re busy eating, you’re less likely to sign us up for a reality TV show.” They shared a laugh, the sound a little fragile but heartfelt, rebuilding the bridge of their friendship over a shared plate of food and the unspoken truth that now lay quietly between them.

The post-lunch lull did nothing to calm Rei’s building restlessness. As they descended the moving stairs toward the car park, the dread of the impending dinner at the shrine began to coil tightly in her stomach. She wanted the waiting to be over. Suddenly, she spotted a sprawling sports equipment store and pointed enthusiastically, “I need to get some workout wear!”

Cillian let out a long-suffering sigh but followed, his arms still laden with the translucent shopping bags from their modeling stint. Inside the vast store, Rei moved with purpose, bypassing aisles of footballs, swimwear and weights until she found the sections for yoga and martial arts.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of a deep red gi and several soft, blue-marbled yoga sets, the logo a stylized sun embracing a wave. A quick trip to the changing room confirmed her choices, and she emerged with her arms full, ready to purchase it all.

Cillian looked at the new pile of merchandise with the expression of a man who had seen enough bold clothes for one lifetime, but he was too exhausted to question it. As he paid, he remarked matter-of-factly, “It’s easy for you to promise to buy lunch, when you don’t have any Units.” Rei pouted, a flicker of genuine embarrassment crossing her face. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, echoing her apology from the restaurant, “I thought my Unit chip would work here. How was I to know Takumi gave me one that only works at Kuroda Plaza?” She straightened her shoulders, trying to regain some dignity, “Besides, I promised I’d pay you back tenfold. I never get to spend my Units at the Plaza on anything anyway.”

Cillian chuckled, the sound warm and forgiving, “Calm down, I’m only pulling your leg.” Rei crossed her arms, but a smile broke through her feigned indignation, “Well, please leave my leg alone!”