#blanc x OC

[cas-kingdom]

White Flower

A/N: Definitely a long time coming. I've been so slow in my writing since starting university but I'm glad to finally have this one done. Hopefully you all enjoy the introduction of my OC!

Set in the aftermath of Glass Onion.

Title: White Flower

Summary: Fleur Blanc, art student and only daughter of the world's greatest detective, wants to steal the Mona Lisa.

Words: 2336

Despite the alarm and the impassive yelling of “this is a smokeless garden”, Benoit Blanc believed he quite deserved this cigarette, thank you very much. Trying was one word to describe the weekend he’d had. All-round tits up was another.

Besides. The island was pretty much a raging pit of alarms, fire, and general chaos by now. One more addition didn’t make much of a difference, and there certainly was no stopping the activation of the hydrogen fuel now.

“Oh, do shut up,” he said anyway, because it felt good, and because the first yell had made him jump and squish his cigarette between two fingers.

He reached for another and let his sunglasses fall over his eyes, squinting into the distance.

The horrifically neon pink of Birdie Jay’s sunhat stuck out like a sore thumb in the midst of the remaining participants of the weekend’s fiasco. They were all fanned out across the beach, as far apart from each other as possible, waiting impatiently for the policeboats to arrive. Ironic, really, considering how they’d arrived, each one a suck up to the next.

Benoit lit his new cigarette and shook his head with a scoff. “Megalomaniac, Janus-faced…” He muttered the words under his breath and took a puff. The alarm and impassive yelling restarted, and the second cigarette promptly joined the one on the ground.

“For the love of...”

He was owed a proper vacation after this, at the very least.

The yelling stopped abruptly with a crackle and a robotic groan. When Benoit turned, he was met with the sight of a young woman, her feet precariously placed between the gaps of the odd white sculpture that the yelling emanated from.

No longer.

After a violent snap, she held a handful of the offending wires, a look of irritation settling on her face. A flick of long hair and a moment later she tossed the wires onto dry land and followed them down into the shallow water with a quiet splash. Benoit rose a brow and fit his third cigarette neatly between smirking lips.

“Why, thank you, my darlin’.”

Fleur Blanc, twenty-year old art student and daughter of the world’s greatest detective, offered a mock bow as she stepped out of the water. She stretched out a leg and shook her foot dry as her father turned his gaze back towards the beach.

It hadn’t been his idea to bring Fleur along on this particular adventure, and he had in fact protested against it when she and that good-for-nothing roommate of his had suggested it, remembering quite well the last time his detective business had taken him on a wild ride. Alas, lockdown had turned Fleur into a firecracker and Philip had eventually boiled Benoit’s options down to “you take her with you, or I take myself out with the shotgun in the safe.” All fun and games, of course. Of course.

He couldn’t say her presence had been unappreciated. Apart from the obvious ease in her company, and the slightest spark of feeling like they were on a proper vacation, she had helped with the investigation, too. His little detective in the making, he’d always teased, though for as much as he was sure she loved the thrill of investigation, he was certain her career path would lead her straight to the arts.

That certainty was consolidated at the unusual silence coming from Fleur. When he turned, she was standing with her back to him, her eyes fixed on what remained of the Glass Onion. The structure that had once been so…not on fire generated quite the backdrop for his obviously preoccupied daughter. Her head tilted, arms crossed, feet bare and loose hair billowing behind her in the summer breeze, one would assume she was the picture of innocence.

Benoit knew better.

The moment she glanced over her shoulder, a twinkle in her eyes and the—in this case—horrifying beginning of “Dad?” on the tip of her tongue, Benoit pulled his cigarette from his mouth and pointed it at her. His own head dipped dangerously low, and his brows raised in what Fleur knew to be warning.

“No,” he said. Firm and simple. He would not deny she often found herself wrapped around his little finger, but this was one thing he’d be ridiculous to abide by.

“But—”

“My goodness, Fleur, no!”

Fleur narrowed her eyes and whipped her head back around. Benoit saw her fingers tapping rhythmically against her forearm. He remained still, waiting, ready. Because when a thought entered Fleur’s mind, she was hard-pressed to get rid of it.

With a defining nod and not a single glance back, Fleur slipped her flip-flops on and started walking with absolute intent. Benoit rushed after her. He grasped her shoulder and stopped her before she could take another step.

Fleur was ready for him. “I’m doing it,” she stated, “I’ve decided. I have to.”

“You are insane if you truly think—it’s—you are just preposterous, child!”

“But, Dad, it can’t be a crime, right? Most of it’s already destroyed!”

Benoit spluttered. He dropped the cigarette and, with a sudden distaste for the thing, squashed it under the toe of his shoe.

“Jesus, God, Satan, give me strength,” he muttered under his breath, not for the first time concerning his daughter and certainly not for the last. He grasped her by the shoulders, ensuring she couldn’t avoid his gaze, then, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “Fleur, sweetheart, you want to steal the Mona fudgin’ Lisa.”

“Rehome,” Fleur was quick to correct. “And it’ll have a better life with me! You really think Miles appreciated it as much as I will?” That was a given. “And—and only a small part, Dad, that’s all I want.” She suddenly hardened her stare, that familiar seriousness suddenly reappearing. “That’s all I need.”

The detective’s speechlessness after that closing statement could have been due to a number of things. One, because the pure gall of this girl never ceased to amaze him. Two, because something seemed to blow up behind them, a puff of smoke emanating from the top of what used to be the Onion. Three, the most likely contender, because the moment said explosion had him distracted, Fleur ducked under his hold and made her way intently towards it.

Like father, like daughter, was all he could think. And he wasn’t referencing himself.

Surprising, considering he followed after her with absolutely zero hesitation.

The Glass Onion’s majesty was long gone. The maddest of people would advise anyone and everyone to stay about a hundred feet from its flaming mess, armed with a hard-shell helmet and a fire extinguisher, just in case anything went even more wrong. Which, looking at it, was likely.

Still, as was typically—stupidly—the case, Benoit Blanc stood in the middle of it all.

One hand wrapped around his daughter’s, the other gripping the doorframe for easy escape, his wide eyes darted around the Onion. If he was any less focused on the state of his surroundings, he would have been more concerned at his daughter’s lack of concern. True, the fire had somewhat died down, and the structure itself looked less ready to cave in than it had done before, but safe was still not a word he would use to describe it.

Helen’s stunt had certainly done a number on poor Mona, but the world of aesthetes could decidedly remain relieved with the knowledge that some parts of her were untouched. Surrounded by what had once been her glass refuge, she sat still in the place she had done since Miles had obtained her. One eye was black, the other pristine. A side of her hair reflected the fire, the other had been destroyed by it. Needless to say, the majority of her was gone, and if Fleur had the time, Benoit had no doubt she’d be down on her hands and knees, collecting the ashes in a little pot and shamelessly risking her life in the process. Alas, he would sooner drag her out, kicking and screaming, than have her be here a moment longer than she apparently needed to be.

Benoit watched his daughter’s eyes as they scanned the room before landing on Mona. In less than a second, that tell-tale glint went from inquisition to pure delight. It seemed no amount of staring from outside of the case could prepare her for now. True, the painting was charred more than not, and his watchful eye did catch a spark of disappointment, but it only seemed to spur her determination in getting it safely within her grasp.

Parental instincts ablaze since the moment he’d stepped foot on the island, Benoit immediately tightened his grip on her hand and yanked her back when she made to move forward. “Hold your horses,” he said, waiting for her eyes to meet his before wildly gesturing around them. “There’s glass everywhere, Fleur, and you’re wearing flip-flops. Why would you bring flip-flops to this island and nothing else?”

“We’re on vacation!”

“You knew darn well this wasn’t a vacation!”

Fleur spluttered for a moment before pointing accusingly at his own choice of footwear. “Like you and your boat shoes can do any better.”

Benoit gasped. Audibly. “These have hard, glass-proof soles, I’ll thank you to notice.”

He wasn’t quite sure what it was that spurred him to his next decision. Perhaps it was the urgency of the situation. Or the very distant, but ever-closer, sound of sirens. Or, maybe, it was the pure eagerness of his daughter; eagerness of which had always softened his heart, no matter the circumstances.

Whichever it was, he tried not to think about the guilt that would remain on his conscience for the rest of his life as he turned and bent over slightly, motioning with his hands.

“Get on my back,” he said hurriedly. When Fleur stalled, shock settling quickly on her face, he motioned again. “Come, child, we haven’t got long.”

And, with that, Fleur hopped on her father’s back with as much excitement as a child. Benoit gripped her legs, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her chin on his shoulder, the biggest of grins adorning her lips.

“Look at you, Dad,” she said as he began walking, stepping carefully over large shards of glass.

“We are not to tell your father,” was his only response to her obvious insinuation that he was becoming rebellious in his old age.

“Might be a little difficult when we come home with the Mona Lisa. Ooh! Why don’t we take the Porsche home too? Just the steering wheel?”

Benoit uttered a silent apology to da Vinci.

“Do you see these grey hairs?” he said. “You are the cause.”

Needless to say, through no innate conformism, Fleur’s inner connoisseur had won over her desire to keep a piece of the Mona Lisa in her cardholder. The moment the police had finished detailing the basics of the weekend’s mess with her father and struck up the sensitive question of the possibility of either of them having seen the Mona Lisa’s remainders at all during the night—Benoit believed it was their imploring “the Louvre are simply desperate to get it back” that had swayed her—Fleur had produced the scraps she’d been able to save from her pocket. Handing them over with only the tiniest hint of reluctance, she’d smiled at the gratefulness from the police and watched them go with the bit of longing she could allow herself.

Chuckling softly, Benoit wrapped an arm around her and drew her into his side, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Well, darlin’,” he said, “I’m very proud of you, if it counts for something.”

Fleur breathed a deep sigh and pressed her lips in a thin smile. “It does. At least I cay say I’ve touched her, right, Dad?”

“Oh, absolutely. That’s more than most people can say, after all.”

The police were wrapping up now, gently guiding the exhausted party members onto a boat—one in particular in aptly placed handcuffs. The island itself would take mountains of work to be habitable again, he’d heard a firefighter voice in passing, and for a moment he wondered if Derol had made it onto the boat. After brief consideration, he decided Derol was probably better off here than America.

Benoit pushed his sunglasses down and steered himself and his daughter in the direction of the shore. He didn’t quite enjoy the idea of sharing a boat ride with previously-dubbed megalomaniac, Janus-faced…people, but alas, after today he would no longer experience the displeasure of seeing them again. Though, he would be glad for Helen to attend a few of his dinner parties when the pandemic allowed.

Fleur reached up to grasp her father’s hand at her shoulder as they walked slowly, stepping carefully around anything glinting in the sand. Then, quietly, “Where’re you gonna put your steering wheel?”

Ah. Benoit instinctively glanced down at the duffel bag in his free hand. True, it was heavier than it had been when he’d first arrived on the island, but he had told his daughter that he’d be much appreciated if she didn’t remind him of his rebelliousness at every given moment. Which she had.

“I’m going to lock it away in a safe, so it’s never found, and I’m never arrested for thieving,” he said, finality embedded in his tone. If anyone ever asked: no, he had not stolen the steering wheel of the Porsche 918 Spyder’s wreckage. No, he did not have it in his duffel bag, blanketed by his clothes and second pair of boat shoes. And, no, once it entered the safe he would never look at it again. Except on birthdays. And maybe Christmasses.

He couldn’t say he regretted it.

But he did regret not regretting it.

“And may I just reiterate,” he said, leaning closer towards her, “your father does not need to know a thing.”

Knives Out Masterpost

[charlotteking23]

Chat Noir Headcanons

This kitty won't be afraid to show PDA in public or private.

cuddling, holding hands, and lots of kisses are expected anytime you two are together

loves to show off in front of you

like if he's fighting an akumantized villain he will show off his muscles.

loves telling cat puns, That was PURRfect wouldn't you say? but he especially likes it if you join along, You cat to be kitten me right meow 😒. ( insert heart eyes from chat noir 😍)

he would protect you from any danger including any guys.

jealous type

would sneak into your room by your window just to see you but he only comes at night usually.

you probably wouldn't know his identity for he would want to remain a secret but we all know it didn't take that long to figure out who he was behind the mask.

Chat would take you on dates at night to see the Eiffel Tower at its highest point, or he would use his baton to carry him and you to a random rooftop, talking about random things.

his favorite date spot is your balcony just you and him talking in the night sky (so beautiful).

you would start making a chat noir blog, it highlights chat noir as a hero and partner to ladybug not just a sidekick.

it blows up with 2.5 million followers and Alya is jealous that her ladyblog doesn't have that many followers.

[kai-teaarts]

I did some lil redesigns of the cast of Miraculous Ladybug (not everyone that's too much drawing for me)

Art dump!!

The last two are just some OCS ( a half self insert half full character)

I love them all.

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY: Meeting the Brothers

Jaune: Okay Yang, welcome to maison de Arc. *opens door*

Yang: Woooooah! *smiles* Pretty fancy place! Almost gives Ice Queen a run for her money.

Jaune: Eh, it's nothing special.

Yang: Jaune, you have three full sets of armour standing in your living room, a pool table, massage chairs, a HUGE flatscreen TV and sculpture of a lion!

Jaune: Hehe, yeah. Dad always did go crazy with the decorations. Anyway, it's a good thing he and mom are away for the weekend. *grabs Yang and lifts her up*

Yang: *giggles* Jaune! When did you get so forward?

Jaune: What can I say? I had a very good teacher. *smirks*

Yang: Well then, how about I give you a Grade A kiss?

Jaune: Yes pleaee, Miss Xiao Long.

Jaune gently placed her down and Yang draped her arms across his shoulders. They leaned in closer, their lips about to touch.

Noir: Hey Jaune! You didn't tell me we were expecting company!

Blanc: Yeah! I would've been out of my PJs!

Yang: Hm? Wha? *looks up* Oh hello there.

Blanc/Noir: Hi. *wave hands*

Jaune: Hey! Weren't you two supposed to be babysitting Adrien over in Argus?

Noir: *walks down* That was the plan, but Saphron and Terra ended up cancelling.

Blanc: *follows him* And we had nothing else to do, so we figured we'd crash here.

Jaune: But why tonight?! You knew I was bringing Yang over.

Yang: Jaune, relax. I don't mind. *turns to Noir and Blanc* So, who are you two lovely gentlemen?

Noir: Jaune's younger, and much cuter, brothers. Noir Arc. *bows*

Blanc: Blanc Arc. *kisses Yang's hand*

Yang: Awww. *chuckles*

Jaune: Oh for the love of-

Yang: The name's Yang. Yang Xiao Long.

Noir: It's nice to finally meet you. Jaune talks about you all the time.

Yang: Oh? *turns and smiles* Does he now?

Jaune: *blushes* Nononono. O-Of course I don't.

Blanc: Sure he does. We've heard a lot about what you get up to during missions. Kicking butts of bad guys, saving people from Grimm You're amazing!

Noir: Not to mention beautiful. Jaune really does have excellent taste.

Jaune: Noir!

Yang: Can't argue with that.

Jaune: Yang, don't encourage them.

Yang: Come on, they're just being nice. Are you really afraid of your younger brothers?

Jaune: N-No.

Blanc: Say Yang, if you ever get tired of Jaune, how about Noir and I go out with you? *smirks*

Noir: We'll pull out all the stops. A nice restaurant, a walk in the park, martial arts torunament, hot, sunny beach-

Jaune: Okay, time for bed. *lifts them up*

Blanc: Aw what?!

Noir: Not cool!

Jaune: You two must very tired. You deserve a nice, long rest.

Noir: We're not kids anymore! Come on!

Blanc: It's only 9:00PM!

Yang: Night boys.

Blanc: Night beautiful.

Noir: Call us!

Jaune: Grrrrr!

Yang: *laughing*

[manofbeskar]

some romantical ocs for vday

[flareguncalamity]

crossing my fingers that in the next knives out movie we learn Benoit Blanc’s husband (his boyfriend? his Hugh Grant?) is an internationally renowned gentleman thief on the run from interpol

[bellatheinkdemon]

A beginner designer and their favourite little "cilent"

(First fankid = Blueberry x Kouign Amann

Second fankid = Mont Blanc x Sugar Coat)

[candlewixx]

Falling.

(Now that both Blanc and Maddox are up on here I can FINALLY post this art of them being boyfriendsss :D)

[pickledpascal]

Daniel Craig Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Series:

The Missing Link

Secret Weapon

ONE-SHOTS:

Achilles' Heel

Biological? I Barely Know Her!

Elle, Why Are You Up?

Support Local Business Women!

Dish Switch

Love Ya, Bye!

Stacy's Dad

Love Language

Researched

Red Carpet Realness

Do You Feel Bonita?

Speculation

Love Through The Years

Clear Air, Clear Lungs

[defiant-art]

benoit…✨🥺

[burningpeanutzonkvoid]

Bleeding Heart Cookie friend cookie run kingdom

[2stregafangirl]

here’s Harmonia Nyarlthototep’s full moonschorced form! ( harmonia is half moonschorced) her title is maiden of Blanc and predictably she hangs around the church she’s mainly at the museum with her husband Pocketcat her weapon is a cross shaped staff that casts light and ice magic, in legends she is Pocketcat’s wife who assists him in his duties and overall is his devoted wife, the soul she drops is the luminosity soul and she’s perfectly in control and can even speak in this form.

[imthecosmicbasball]

"Chapter 1"

Hoshina Soshiro X Oc

Masterlist

"I'm Hasanagi Akira."

On a recent mission the third division just got home from a mission and was already exhausted from it which led them to stay at the bath tub for a while. After their finish with their bath Kafka and Reno where hanging out for a while with Iharu and Kikoru behind them.

"Have you heard, someone said there will be a officer who temporary transfer to first division now they're coming back." Kikoru said drinking her orange juice. "Yeah I heard they where doing some external missions for a while wonder how that is." Reno said.

"I bet they're really strong! If the first division ask for their help!" Iharu said excitedly "Well all we could do is wait." Said Kafka drinking his can of beer.

"Y'll seem having fun there watcha talkin' about?"

Said Hoshina Soshiro from behind them straddling them which makes Kafka choke on his drink, because he didn't want to spray his beer at his superior the poor man swallow it whole. Hoshina only lets out a brief laughter and wipe away his imaginary tears.

"W-we where talking about-" Reno was cut off by Hoshina "Oh the tempo-transfer crew yep there is and their no one else they yer third in command." Hoshina explain with  grind and a little mischief aura. Everyone gasp at the news and surprised how could they not now this before? What's the reason of them no knowing and why weren't they now any news of having a third in command.

"But Vice-captain Hoshina why weren't they have the a rank as a platoon leader if they're strong." Kikoru ask curious Hoshina touch his chin with his usual grind and hum for a while.

"Hmm~ you see they're......."

Everyone wear a weird expression but still waits for the vice captain to say anything.

"...... Meh you'll just have to ask them tomorrow." Hoshina said with a innocent grind which made everyone just slum their head.

(⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

The next morning Kikoru decided to go out with Minase for a girl outing and when they cross a boutique shop up ahead they encounter a lady seem in her 20 she seem very fashionable given how creative and beautiful her clothes look still young and thriving with her natural latte brown hair with a dye red hair on her left side hair she seem to be looking around her pockets and bag or around her body at all while looking a little distressed Kikoru and Minase came to the lady while asking.

(I'm not good at describing the clothing so imma show only.)

"Umm ma'am are you alright? You seem trouble." Kikoru ask. The lady look at them with deep ocean eyes and she smiled "Umm yes I seem to have forgotten my wallet which I was going to buy something for a friend but..... At last I have to go home empty handed you see I've been out for a while with my friend and we've been texting for a while I didn't say anything I was coming home so I wanted to surprise him but hehehe," Said the lady which look  exhausted. The girls look up to see a bakery which is famous in their area Kikoru smile sympathetically and hold the lady shoulder.

"No worries I think I can help with that," "Oh please don't I don't want to bother you." Kikoru only smile and said "It's not wrong to give a helping hand, come on." Kikoru pull the lady inside which makes her smile and while the girls did some shopping after Kikoru pay for them the lady was looking at her bag with one strawberry cake and one tiramisu cake and another one a mont blanc in the bag. "Ugh I feel bad letting two sweet girls paying for me." The lady said smiling sweetly at them "It's ok to lend a hand if someone needs it." Said Kikoru with a smile on her face the lady was silent before chuckled softly she puts down her bag and took the receipt and give it to Kikoru "Can I have your contact info? Maybe I can pay you back." Said the lady smiling widely at them. Kikoru happily write down her contact info which made the grind and thank her.

"Thank girls hope to see you guys..... Soon." The lady but the last word came out as a whisper but Kikoru the only heard which is weird for her but she didn't bother by it Kikoru and Minase wave goodbye to the lady and they went on their separate ways.

At the base where everyone is at Kikoru tells her story to the others how she the meet the lady and how kind she was.

"Honestly I think she's a very delightful person, looking at her confidence aura and the way she's so forward." Said Kikoru to Kafka and Reno which the boys responded by listening. While they where talking and Iharu rush in the cafeteria with a huge slam everyone turn their attention towards him.

"Guys! Guys! You wouldn't believe what happened." Iharu said making everyone crock their eyebrows.

They crew follow Iharu from the second floor to see through the window from the main gate "Hey what are we---"

"Shh!! There." Iharu cuts Reno off and pointed outside the base which when they saw Vice-captain Hoshina hugging a stranger not any stranger but the stranger that Kikoru and Minase encountered.

"T-that's the lady we saw before!" Said Minase which everyone was even more surprised.

Out the gate before the commotion Akira was just coming through the gate "Seem like you forgot to give me your regards." Said the one and only vice captain Hoshina Akira grind and hug her old friend from excitement. "Hehe, what's wrong in coming by for a surprise?" Said Akira.

Akira walk together with Hoshina talking while catching up, while they where catching up the 5 crew sneak around to watch them.

Akira and Hoshina laugh a little while Akira punching playfully on Hoshina shoulder.

"You think their dating?" Ask Iharu.

"Probably not but they seem close." Said Kikoru.

"Hey is this really a good idea?" Kafka said with a concern look on his face he doesn't want to get in trouble but he couldn't leave his fellow youngster chil--I mean friends wonder around so he took the risk.

From what looks like Hoshina and Akira and talking peacefully they already knew that somebody was watching them "I guess you weren't layin' when you said this year recruit are interesting." Akira said grinning.

Hoshina just gives her brife sight "Told ya" Akira hand the plastic bag she was carrying the whole to Hoshina face, Hoshina look confused but hold the bag anyways. "What's this?"

Akira only roll her eyes before inserting her hands inside the bag and show the mont blanc infront of Hoshina face and his face lit up. Akira smile and the other's who watch where felt jelly inside them or awe?

"By the way you guys are terrible at hiding." Hoshina said his face still facing Akira. Everyone went pale after hearing their vice captain voice even if his said it casually they still felt the shivers running down, the group came out with a guilt face yet embarrassed. Akira watching only giggles at the scene.

"A... Our apologies vice captain." Said all of them together Hoshina only sight before speak in his usual tone "Give me 80 laps." Hoshina said with his grind face. They where about to leave but Hoshina give them a second to introduce Akira.

"Since y'll are curious I'll give a brief meeting, this is Hasanagi Akira aka..."

"I'm the third in command from the third division nice to meet every one of you." Akira said smiling while waving her hand in front of them, everyone was hesitant at first but eventually they all gasp in surprised and shock especially Kikoru and Minase.

"EEHH!?"

(⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠) ??? Part2

[justrainandcoffee]

Non, je ne regrette nien (Eames x fem!oc) Part II

Eames masterlist - first part

Summary: Cobb tells the group about the new project they have to do and to Eames' surprise he knows that, somehow, her former sister-in-law is involved.|| Jasmine's life is quite chaotic at the moment and things are about to getting worse when Eames finally calls her.|| His and her friends, know about the other.

Warnings: None. || I took the liberty of using some of my mutuals' beautiful OCs. Eva belongs to @evita-shelby , Holly belongs to @cillmequick and Alice belongs to @emotionalcadaver

Words: 3.1k (believe when I say that only one hour ago, I had half of it and a massive writer's block 😭.)

2010

Eames' cat, named Bes after the Egyptian God of the dreams, was a fat girl who always was where Eames was. From the cat tree that Eames bought for her and put inside that warehouse, Bes was listening to the team while they were discussing the last job.

Dom was hired by a Parisian politician to perform an inception in an important judge by implanting him the idea that he was innocent and could avoid the prison that inevitably was his fate. The politician could bribe the rest of the tribunal but him. He just wanted immunity and forgiveness due some corrupt things he did in the past.

"Did you accept?" Arthur asked not believing his ears.

"We did much worse things."

"It's different, Cobb! We're talking about a man who stopped the construction of a school to buy a fucking house in the Polynesia!"

"It was a hospital," corrected Eames.

"Much worse, then! Let me ask again, did you accept?!"

"I did," Cobb looked at his friend, hands in his pockets touching the token that was there.

"You're losing your mind, Dom. Fuck. And all of you are okay with this?"

"To do this job you don't have to have morals," Eames replied. "We're not angels. You either."

"Do we have options?"

Dom shook his head and Arthur sighed. "Okay, then, let's help this motherfucker. It seems that the only honest being here is Bes."

"That's what you think. That's because you're not living with her," Eames said looking at his cat sideways.

"Better her than you," Arthur stated.

"If it helps to ease your mind, this person promised me to finish the hospital."

"And did you believe him?"

"I can destroy his life," Cobb said, "he knows that."

"Still…"

"Arthur, if this man doesn't do what he promised, I'm going to kidnap him and going to do the same but in his mind and in the next hour he's going to expose himself in public television. Now, can we focus on this?"

Arthur finally nodded.

They left the less important projects aside for the moment to focus on the judge. The next few days Arthur investigated him the same way he collected a good number of data for the politician as well.

The judge was a 56 years old man called Pierre Durant. He was married to an important chef, but despite the money they have their lives were still simple.

"When do we have to do this?" Ariadne asked, three days after Cobb announced the project.

"We have time. But we can't waste hours. I'm guessing a couple of weeks or a month. We can train, we can think about this detailed."

"He has a dental appointment in three weeks," Arthur said writing the date on the whiteboard. "Le sourire blanc his dentist is doctor Jasmine Prince."

"What?" Eames stopped what he was doing to stared at his friend.

"I said he has a dental appointment we can use to…"

"The dentist name, Arthur."

"Jasmine Prince. Why?"

"No, we can't use that appointment to do this."

"Why not?"

"Because I know her. The woman who greeted me the other day in the street… that's Jasmine Prince. Or Jas."

"Well, we can persuade her to help us," suggested Ariadne. "Is she your friend?"

"Not exactly."

"Is she your ex, then?"

"Not exactly."

"Eames, for god sake!" Arthur was exasperated and it was notorious. "You were the one who said we don't have morals when we're doing this job! Amazing that you're more concerned about a dentist than a senator that used people's money to his own benefit."

"We're going to use that appointment to do this," interjected Cobb before Eames could replicate. The leader of the group saw him frown "Talk to her and try to convince her."

"Easy to say, Dominic."

"You screw up somehow with the dentist?" Arthur asked again.

"Maybe."

"How bad that can be?" Ariadne wanted to know, but Eames didn't respond, instead, he walked towards Cobb.

"I'm going to talk to her. But if she refuses we're going to find a new place to do this or I'm out."

Cobb nodded "deal."

_

The days that followed the moment Jasmine saw Eames were chaotic to say the least. Her patients were everything but patient, her secretary decided to start a new job and left her alone dealing with the schedule, the callings, new appointments and cancellations as well. The new rhythm of the world seemed to be affecting everyone and without help, at the end of the day Jasmine just wanted to go home and sleep for three years consecutive.

And when she was sleeping Eames appeared in her dreams. Usually it was that night but the scenario changed almost every time. Sometimes she was just with him dancing, others Sophia appeared accusing her of being an awful sister. Once, a nightmare woke her up and she spent a couple of hours trying to erase the image of Eames and Sophia laughing at her.

A friend of hers gave her the number of a girl who was looking for a job. Jasmine needed a secretary urgently or she was going to collapse before the end of the month, she promised herself to call this girl soon.

It was those days that she realised that she needed holidays. She was tired, stressed and possibly suffering from anxiety. Jasmine thought that she needed to start therapy as well. But free time wasn't something she had.

That day Jasmine started her day as usual. She fed her ferrets, prepared coffee for her and listen to the first news of the morning before parting to her job. The subway was crowded ad usual at that hour but she managed to get a seat. Music, as always, helped her. Music was part of her the same way books were part of a librarian. She couldn't imagine a world in silence, a world where songs and melodies weren't part of the humanity. She promised herself that at night she was going to play the guitar, despite the complaints from her moody old neighbour and her useless son.

Same as always, that day for her it was full of patients and few time for her. Jasmine realised that she ate anything around 4pm when her stomach growled. In less than an hour, fortunately, she was going to be able to go to her house again.

.

That same night, Eames was already in the apartment he was renting while he was in Paris. Every new case brought new challenges and usually he was always prepared because it never involved people he knew, but now it was different. How many dentist were in Paris in that moment? Thousands. And of all those dentists, the stupid judge had to choose her? Eames understood that she was good, but it was the problem that could cause working with her what bothered him.

He didn't want her to think that he was playing with people's minds. Even if it was exactly that what he was doing.

"Should I call her now?"

It was a serious question directed to a serious listener as Bes was.

Owner and pet were eating french fries watching Breaking Bad, popular tv show if any in 2010. But Eames wasn't paying attention to Walter White in that moment.

Arthur got him her telephone number and address. Was it legally? No, of course not, neither of what they did was legal. But Eames wasn't going to harass her either. He just wanted to talk.

"As a friend," he said out loud. Bes seemed to judge him when she heard his words.

"As a friend," he repeated. "What do you know about it, girl?"

Meow.

"I know better, Bes."

Bes wasn't so sure.

.

Jasmine, as she promised to herself, was playing the guitar. The Beatles' song was filling the room and she was lost, feeling the strings in her fingers. She also sang. Not many people knew, but she learnt how to do it decades ago when she was just a teen.

Back then Sophia spent her days learning karate because she wanted to be part of the school team. She was really good at it, won several medals and trophies. Sophia tried to persuade Jasmine to join her, but she refused every time and seeing that, her parents allowed her to learn music and sent her to a nice academy. Jasmine thought more than once that the moment they chose different extracurricular activities it was when the twins started to be independent individuals. And for good or not, it lasted till these days.

When her phone rang, Jasmine was still playing the guitar. The ID showed a number she didn't know, so she thought it was a patient. It wasn't strange for her receiving calls from different people asking her if they could go to her clinic without an appointment or if she could give them some medicine at… 2am.

"Doctor Prince," she said without looking at the number again.

"Doctor Prince? That sounds good, Jas."

Jasmine put the guitar aside and it took her few seconds to recognise his voice.

"Eames? What…? How…? Who gave you my number?"

"Hi, Jas. Uhm. No one. Everything is on internet these days."

"Did you search my name on Google, Eames?"

"Well, no if you say it like I'm a pervert looking for my next victim, Jasmine. It surprised me to see you the other day and I barely could say hello. You ran away."

"No, it's not like that. I didn't ran away. I was tired, and I didn't know what else to say. But I was glad to see you again."

"Were you? For a moment I thought that you weren't."

"What? No. No… I was tired and you were with people."

"Cobb and Arthur, yes, my friends and colleagues. Jas, I have something to tell you and it's better you heard this from me. But it can't be over the phone. I thought, I don't know, maybe we can talk? How about a coffee?"

"Talk about what? What do you have to tell me?"

"Talk. I don't know, life? What are you doing here, what I am doing here. We're friends, after all. Or we used to be."

"Eames…"

"It's okay if you don't want to. That's my number if you ever want to talk, just call me maybe. If I don't answer immediately it's because I'm sleeping."

Her ferrets were looking at her. Dumb idiot, they seemed to think as they were looking at her with their judgy black eyes.

"I'll save your number."

"Sounds good, Jas. I still don't know if it's true that you are happy to see me. But I am. Good night, Jas."

"Good night, Eames."

Jasmine stayed there with her heart pounding in her chest. She added his number on her phone and contemplated it several minutes, while her thumb brushed the keys ready to type a message as soon as her brain give the order. But that didn't happen.

.

Unaware of what the other was doing, the other day both called some friends to talk. In Jasmine's case, it was an old friend of hers. She was living in United States and they each other from the years they were studying un college. She was friends with Sophia as well, although they cut all ties after Sophia returned to Canada. Time zones were always complicated, but at those hours, it could be considered adequate for both of them.

Holly Matthews was one of the people she trusted the most of her, among with Eva Smith who was living in the USA as well. Both were in stablish relationships and sometimes, more often than Jasmine wanted to admit, she felt behind in life compared to them. Yet, the last thing she felt was envy, quite the contrary. Both Zach and Jack -Holly and Eva's partner respectively- were good men and her friends were happy. In consequence, she was too. But for now, that was something that life didn't give her. Her relationships usually ended very soon. Or very bad. Or both.

"Hospital was really crowded the last week. Suddenly all women decided to have their babies at the same time, it seemed. But I'm getting some rest now and Zach is very happy about it." Holly commented. Medicine somehow joined both friends, although their works weren't the same at all.

"For sure, he is" Jasmine chuckled. She was eating her lunch, something she didn't do the day before, while talking with her "you are lucky, Holly. Hope you know that."

"Gary didn't talk to you again?"

"He better not! I rather be alone than with someone like him again…"

"But?" Holly could hear her friend from the other side of the line and she knew she wanted to say something.

"Eames reappeared. Well, it's not like he reappeared magically. I found him here two weeks ago and he called me last night."

"Oh my god."

Only Eva and Holly knew about the whole thing about Eames and her and that infamous night when they had sex.

"Yes. That was my reaction. He wants to talk, but he didn't tell me about what. I have his number, tho."

"Well, call him then!"

"Holly…"

"Maybe he just wants to know how you are. It's been a lot of years. Who stops you? Sophia gives a fuck about him."

"Sophia gives a lot of fucks about her exes. She collects them like limited edition figures."

"But they're people, Jas. Individuals who have a life despite what she thinks. And you do want my opinion on this matter, otherwise you will be laughing at this. Call him! Did you talk to Eva?"

"No… not yet. I'm afraid that she'll push me towards him. It was hard not to hear her years ago."

"Because she's right. You should hear her. Jas, you know what I think of Sophia."

"But she's still my sister."

"And this happened when? Four? Five years ago? And it's just a fucking coffee with him or a dinner or whatever, if you want, do it. I have to go, love, but let me know, ok?"

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Holly."

Jasmine stared at the opposite wall for several minutes.

Five years ago, the next day after spending the night with her former brother-in-law when Jasmine called Eva her friend was categorically: "if you like him, go after him."

And to be honest, part of Jasmine wanted to go after him. But the love she had for her sister was stronger. Eva had snorted back then when Jasmine told her that Eames returned to London where he lived in 2005. "Hope you don't regret it. With due all respect, Sophia is a bitch, Jasmine. And I'm telling you this as her former friend. I sincerely regret introducing him to her instead of you. I didn't see the things clearly."

Eva was his friend back then in 2003 and thought that Eames and Sophia could be a good couple and for a while it seemed to work. But sooner than anyone expected, the arguments began and a bit longer than a year and a half, they broke up. Jasmine thought she wasn't going to see him again, but in 2005 she found him and now, in 2010, Eames appeared in her life again. Not Sophia's life, but hers. Twice.

.

As for Eames, he was talking with his best friend. Unlike Holly and Jas, the time zone between him and Alice Emerson was huge considering she was living in Australia. But she didn't seem to mind. He was in her kitchen (technically his boyfriend's kitchen, but now it was hers as well) talking to Eames. The phone was in speaker as she was taking advantage to be there to eat ice-cream. It was winter in that side of the world, but that didn't stop her.

"So, yes, Cobb told me about this new case and told me too, that Arthur is a bit upset. I agree, but I like the idea of Cobb destroying this politician's life if he fuck with us."

"I agree. Are you coming with us?"

"I am, yes. But not now, maybe near the day you're planning this inception. Did you do your part yet? Cobb told me you know the dentist."

"I do, yes. I do."

"So?"

"I called her last night. I didn't tell this to the group yet, Al, but I'm her former brother-in-law. I dated her sister."

"Oh shit!! That's why you wanted her out if this!" Alice exclaimed while was holding the spoon near her mouth. "Did you screw up very bad with her sister?"

"No. We broke up because we're going anywhere with that relationship and we were arguing constantly. The this… Jasmine and her sister are twins…"

"So?"

"I fucked Jasmine, too. It happened only once, after I broke up with her sister, but it happened." Eames finally confessed.

Alice's spoon fell on the floor to much her cats happiness who were craving a bit of ice-cream. "You did what?!"

"Only once, Al."

"You're an idiot, Eames. Tell me, for god's sake, that it wasn't because you fantazised about having sex with the two of them…"

"Well, no. I mean, when I knew that Sophia had a twin the idea crossed my mind. But I didn't have sex with Jas because she was 'the other twin'. I did it because I wanted to. Jasmine is a sweet girl, I could never do that, even if I thought about it. We both agreed, otherwise."

"Shit. Eames, you're very lucky that I'm on the other side of the world! I want to smack you! Okay, let's see. Do you think she wants to talk to you?"

"Hard to know. When I saw her by chance weeks ago, she ran away, but she says she didn't."

"Can you blame her? At least she talked to you last night, that's something. Eames, just… I don't know, just give her some time. I can talk to Cobb and persuade him to give you extra time without giving him details. He listens to me."

"That could be very helpful."

"Fine. Wait for her call, then. If not, we can think another thing. But don't screw up this time, Eames."

"I'm an angel, Alice."

His friend rolled her eyes and finished the call.

Eames remained in his apartment that day, thinking about alternatives to do the job. He also checked his phone every ten minutes.

But it wasn't until the night that he received a message.

"Can you tomorrow afternoon? xoxo, J."

He couldn't help but smile

"I can. Tell me where. <3."

Next

[rotomartsblog]

Stories I want to base Ever After High OCs off (an ever growing list)

Hans My Hedgehog (One of my favourite ‘obscure’ fairytales. Already decided her name would be Hannah M. Hedgehog. To fit the design aesthetic of eah she wouldn’t literally have the upper body of a hedgehog and the lower body of a human, she’d be more of a hybrid. She’s a rebel because she rejects her destiny of becoming fully human at the end of the story and embraces her hedgehog side.)

Boy Who Cried Wolf (See my last reblog. Lies a lot but because of their destiny no one tends to believe them anyways. Also accidentally right a lot. Not lying maliciously just doing it for shits and giggles)

The Frog Princess (Because I think it’d be funny for there to be two royals who turn into frogs but are completely unrelated to each other. Also there’s so many variants of this story from region to region that it’d be fun to write this girl)

Speaking of, The Frog Prince (Specifically the daughter of the princess from the tale and the son of the prince’s gayass servant. Princess Girl does not want to be Hopper’s princess but is slightly willing to enact the version where she gets to throw Frog Hopper at a wall instead of kissing him. Dislikes frogs a bit but plays it up as a seething hatred to scare Hopper. Kind of a bitch if you couldn’t tell. Sporty girl. The servant boy is 100% in love with Hopper, like father-like son, and has the iron bands around his heart. Maybe he could be Hopper’s real true love :x)

Pinocchio (Daughters of The Coachman and Mangiafuoco, and niece of Lampwick. The Coachman’s daughter has a pet donkey that everyone thinks is a turned boy, but nope it’s just a regular donkey. She’s a rebel because she doesn’t want to go down the route of her father. Mangiafuoco’s daughter is scary and off-putting, but actually a genuinely nice girl. Would love to perform onstage but she has stage fright and is just so shy in general, so she resorts to puppet theatre instead. Always uses a hand puppet to talk through. Lampwick’s niece is a rebel because she’d rather not turn into a donkey thank you very much. Low-key resented Cedar up until Legacy Day because she believed if Cedar didn’t exist she wouldn’t need to turn into a donkey. Now they’re on better terms since Cedar decided she’d become human in her own way)

The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats (Youngest son of the youngest goat. Really I just like people with goat features. He’d feel tense around Ramona, even though he’s pretty sure she’s probably not the wolf from his story)

Puss In Boats (Daughter of Puss In Boots. Would probably be able to transform between an animal and human form like Bunny Blanc. Doesn’t really align herself with Royal or Rebel, but has slipped into thoughts like ‘if I can make someone else royalty, why can’t I make myself royalty?’)

The Prince and The Pauper (It’s not a fairytale but the books included King Lear’s daughter so I feel like I’m free to do this. I just think designing two boys that look identical would be fun)

Mwindo (One of my favourite tales because of how entertainingly OP Mwindo is. I imagine that his son would be equally as OP and like half of the student population is scared of him. But that fear often gets subsided because he’s not that keen on using his powers like his dad was)

Commedia dell’arte (Not a story but kids based on the stock characters could be fun. They probably wouldn’t attend Ever After High since they wouldn’t have actual destinies, they’d attend another high school. I had the idea of Cedar doubling as the Burattino stock character, and it developed into all the stock characters being based on different dolls/toys, ie Pierrot being a rag doll, Pulcinella being a wind-up toy, etc. Really I just want Cedar to have people who could understand her whole ‘Am I even real’ situation better, is that too much to ask?!)

Two miscellaneous additions that don’t actually align to specific stories; a Warrior Girl and a Forest Witch. (The Warrior Girl is the daughter of a warrior tribe leader. My idea for her story is that it’s an ancient epic that is so old it has lost its exact name, having been repeated so many times. Also, her reason for following her destiny is less ‘we have to or we all disappear’ and more ‘I have to so I can prove myself worthy’. Her warrior kingdom’s society is very different from Ever After’s society, which she learnt the hard way. She feels awkward hanging out with the other girls because of cultural differences, and she doesn’t like hanging out with boys because they tend to underestimate her. She was only supposed to attend for Legacy year so that she could sign the Book of Legends because Milton Grimm would not stop bugging her father about it, but she decided to stay after the shit show that happened on Legacy day. I didn’t base the Forest Witch of a specific fairy tale because goddamn it there are too many witches living in the forests in these tales for me to choose just one. In universe she probably has a specific destiny, or a few, I just haven’t chosen it yet. Very closed off from others. Actually lives in the Enchanted Forest with her mother. She also likes archery but how much of her skill is genuine and is magic is up to debate)

The Devil (He appears in a lot of fairytales. The OC is a girl who is clearly the daughter of the devil, but it’s never said so no one actually knows it. Every time someone asks about her destiny she’s like ‘it’s nothing important don’t worry about it :)’)

[pickledpascal]

The Missing Link

Chapter Four: Hindenburg

Warnings: Panic attack, Miles Bron is closeted (?), some swearing.

Word Count: 7.4k

The Missing Link Masterlist

Previous Chapter  |  Next Chapter

Out of all the people Detective Blanc expected to arrive at the dock earlier that day, Ezra Wayne and his daughter were not one of them. Birdie Jay, why wouldn't he? She was the problematic fashionista who was clinging onto relevancy by trying to come up with something new and revolutionary every few years. Duke Cody was a men's rights activist, pleading for his audience to trust everything he said. And they did, not thinking to make at least one Google search to check if he was telling the truth or not. Claire Debella and Lionel Toussaint were similar in that much of their money to do their work was provided by Miles, in turn they'd basically support everything he did.

Ezra Wayne was the outlier. 

Why would he come all the way to Greece to meet an old friend who he was very vocal about not liking anymore? He didn't owe anything to Miles as far as Blanc knew. Ezra started his acting career from nothing. No help or reassurance was given to him by any of his past friends.

He knew this because of some of the interviews he'd seen. It was safe to say Benoit was a fan. Who wouldn't think the tall, dark, and handsome man wasn't the best looking in all of Hollywood anyway? He was also a great actor too, starring in anything from a silly rom com to the scariest of horror movies. Blanc liked versatility in his men.

Seeing Ezra in person was certainly something. His gray's were much more prominent than in the movies, showing his age. Maybe he hadn't gotten around to re-dyeing it yet. Then there was the part where Birdie deadnamed him. Ezra didn't seem that bothered, just annoyed. 

When he got his chance, Blanc smiled kindly as Ezra turned to him. "I must say, I absolutely love your films! I've seen almost all of 'em, you're amazin' in every single one." He was nervous but he needed to get that out as he looked Ezra up and down. It felt like he was a teenager again, talking to the most attractive boy at school. Ezra always looked absolutely beautiful on screen but it didn't compare to seeing him in real life.

Once on the boat, Benoit wanted to get an inkling to each person's personality. It just so happened that he was walking into the boat to talk with Lionel when Elle waved him over. It was hard to say no, especially with such a beautiful man in the room. But nerves, they were never something Benoit got over easily. He was a relatively calm person, even after the sheer amount of dangerous cases he's been through that would send any sane person running. Who takes on the mysterious case of the death of the mystery novel writer? Apparently, Benoit Blanc does. When Benoit did get nervous, though, they didn't leave as swiftly as he would hope.

After all, meeting your celebrity crush and escaping a near death experience are two completely different things. Although, they might meet on this isolated island.

Conversation with the father-daughter duo was certainly interesting and insinuated something Benoit wasn’t sure he wanted to admit. As much as he wanted to focus on the matter at hand, it was hard with someone as determined as Elle to make both himself and Ezra a blubbering mess. 

Benoit pursed his lips, he might as well use this time to try and eliminate Ezra from his suspect list. Or try to. “Y’know, Ezra, you and your daughter seem to be out of place among all these…. Eccentric personalities. For an actor, it’s strange of me to admit such a thing.” It was peculiar that Ezra was here. If he wasn’t the murderer–which would be horrible for Benoit–-then why was he here?

“I like to think it’s because I grew up poor and didn’t compromise myself or leech off of others in order to get rich and famous.” The brunette explained with a hum. Benoit nodded at Ezra and looked down at his hands.

The others happened to grow up in middle class families, besides Birdie–she was the daughter of a famous model, making her famous even before she was born. And Lionel, a little different too. He intimately worked with Miles, being employed by him for the sake of doing what he always wanted to do. Only for the sake of science of course. 

—------

Now, Benoit did not know of Ezra before his transition but the actor was always open about that time, sharing photos of himself and even his deadname but Benoit didn’t think it was that difficult to call Ezra by the name he goes by now. Apparently it was very hard for Miles. 

“Liz-Ezra…. You look amazing. Great, actually. I’m glad you’re here.” Miles’ eyebrows furrowed as he corrected himself. Benoit observed him as he walked the length of the glass dock. It seemed Miles was blushing a little but it didn’t look like embarrassment.

Huh, interesting…. Oh.

Oh.

Well, it’s reassuring that Benoit isn’t the only one attracted to Ezra. He glanced at Helen who stared at Miles. His main objective was to get her some answers, he needed to focus on that. If he happened to get a boyfriend out of this case, well, that would be nice. Benoit closed his eyes for a moment to get his head in the right mindset, fixing his sunglasses.

“Can we just take a second and fully inbreathiate this moment together?” Miles said with a gentle smile. Benoit pursed his lips and cocked his eyebrow, he ignored it but something inside him was saying that he needed to remember that for later.

Benoit was quiet as the tour started, mostly hanging around Helen to give her some semblance of comfort. Someone here killed her sister so he didn’t blame her if she was tense and weary of everyone, even if some of them seemed too dense to commit a murder. 

“Get settled in! Change. Let’s meet up at the pool.” Miles told everyone with a happy smile. “We’ll have a chill afternoon and then the game begins!” He announced, letting everyone fiddle with the bracelets around their wrists to find their room. As expected, Miles requested Benoit come with him for a private chat.

—-------

The pool seemed to be calmer but that meant it was time for Benoit to start gathering some information, among other things. He looked around the rectangular pool, catching sight of Birdie and Claire on the pool chairs off to the side while Miles was playing a tune on the guitar. He made his way over the Miles and grabbed one of the drinks inside the cooler. 

“Oh! Baby Blue!” Benoit exclaimed, a light smile on his face as he twisted the cap open and took a drink. His nose wrinkled slightly at the taste. It was like Jared Leto somehow bottled how he smelled. Benoit had never met him before but that’s what he imagined he’d smell like.

Duke took a sip of his drink, “Yeah. Miles, you remember when you almost pancaked me outside Andi’s–”

“Anderson Cooper’s birthday party? Yeah, Coop's parties are memorable.” Miles laughed with an almost nervous smile as he grabbed a bottle as well.

Benoit stood from his crouching position and looked over at Ezra and Elle. They were talking with each other. No one seemed to want to talk to them. Peculiar, with such a close-knit group like this. He made his way over to the pair and sat at the other pool chair next to Ezra. “Have you always been…. The outcast in a group like this?” He asked, careful but still blunt.

“Eh, kinda.” Ezra lowered his sunglasses so they covered his eyes, the sides of his lips were tense. “I was the only one who wanted a job in the performing arts and then I told them I was also trangender, kinda put the nail in the coffin.”

“Hmm.” Benoit nodded, catching a glimpse of the scars ever so slightly showing from underneath the half-open shirt on Ezra’s shoulders. “You look…. Great.” He said with a light smile, knowing his face must be some shade of red. He assumed crimson. It didn’t take the detective much to get him a blushing mess. It just depended on the person and if they had the means to.

Ezra let out a small laugh at the compliment. “Thanks, Detective. I could say the same for you.” Benoit bit the inside of his cheek. Was he flirting with him? Holy shit. “I mean, I would be very proud of myself if I was the most attractive detective alive.” Ezra shrugged.

Benoit let out a flattered laugh, feeling as if he was a boy again. “Some might say you’re the most attractive actor alive.” It was weak, but it was all he could come up with. It was like his brain was short-circuiting. Only for a second.

—------

After the little stunt at the pool, Helen and Benoit met in the gym as it seemed no one was using it or was going to use it in the short time they were there. Of course, that led to Benoit snooping around the compound to eventually find Duke watching Miles and Whiskey…. Doing their thing in front of a window. Honestly, though, how could Miles not see Duke. Weird. 

Helen got a little closer, wanting to hear what the pair was talking about behind the glass. Benoit pursed his lips, shaking his head at her. She was good but damn if she got caught, that'd be the end of their investigation.

—------

"My mom took me to Paris when I was six years old. First time I looked at this lady, it changed my life. You know Da Vinci invented a technique for brush strokes that leave no lines?" Miles gushed over the real Mona Lisa, the one in songs and meant to be the museum of art in France. Guess not these days. "That's how you can look straight at her and her expression changes every time. Her smile's there, then it disappears. Is she happy? Is she sad? Is it something else?"

Benoit never was one to be interested in art, at least not high art like the Mona Lisa or any of Goya's paintings. He appreciated it, sure, just not one to dedicate his whole life to caring about them. It seemed Ezra was similar in that aspect, taking a sip from his glass with an unbothered look in his eyes. 

Helen kept staring at the painting, nodding. "It really is something." Benoit glanced up at the painting before he looked back at Miles.

Claire looked from Miles to the painting and narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute, Miles. Why do you have the Mona Lisa in your living room?" Her tone was pointed, like she knew something the rest didn't. Or, that Claire knew Miles was gonna do something she didn't like.

Miles let out a breath, a cocky smile appearing on his lips. "In one week, I've invited world leaders and members of the press from all over to unveil the future." He said as he grabbed a crystal-like object from his pocket and showed it to everyone in the room. Most looked confused…. But Claire and Lionel…. "You know what this is?"

"You know damn well we do." Lionel gritted out, tapping at the lip of his glass. "What's going on, Miles?" 

Benoit raised his hand, letting out a strained laugh. "Uh, I don't." It seemed, neither did Ezra or his daughter who's attention was peaked at the crystallic object. They seemed to have felt the rise of tension in the room.

"Don't drop it." Miles threw it at Benoit who caught it with ease.

But Claire, she was concerned. "Oh my god!" Perhaps something would have happened if the little crystal touched the floor. They were all in trouble, then. 

Benoit looked at the crystal between his fingers, carefully staring at the grooves and small bubbles that seemed to be trapped inside.

"That's a new solid hydrogen fuel. It's incredibly powerful." Miles explained, "It's radically efficient. Zero carbon emissions, and it's derived from abundant seawater. I call it Klear, with a K." Because of course he did. "And at this event, we are going to announce 'Klear America.' Our affordable home power solution. Klear is going to be powering people's dreams, all over this country, by the end of this year."

Ezra shook his head, he may not have been a chemist or anything that had to do with the sciences but the looks Claire and Lionel had on their faces weren't hard to read. They were concerned, devastated even. 

Lionel slammed his glass down on one of the podiums, causing the glass on the Mona Lisa to lift back up. It was protecting itself, from what? It didn't know just yet. "No. No. Because I was clear with you. I told you I need two years minimum to test this stuff to see if it's safe or even viable. Claire and I are not gonna be responsible for putting something out in the world before it is tested. And–" He paused once Miles pointed up at the air around them.

"Shit." Ezra breathed. So much for being safe on this summer vacation. They were walking around in a ticking time bomb….

"Oh, no." Lionel realized as well, stepping back from Miles.

Miles nodded with a smirk, "Oh, yeah."

Benoit's eyebrows furrowed as he looked back at the small crystal in his hand. "You're running this entire place off this?"

"The whole Glass Onion is powered by Klear." Miles let out a light laugh. He was giddy, his dreamlike fuel was working. As far as he knew. "Come on, let's…. Let's eat!"

It was clear that both Lionel and Claire weren't sure they could trust Miles anymore. He was being reckless. More reckless than he usually was. Elle narrowed her eyes at Miles before she looked at Ezra who let out a light breath. Maybe they could get through this night and leave as soon as possible in the morning. Ezra didn't want to stay too much longer if the whole island was dangerous and he also didn't want to feel responsible if something were to happen to his daughter.

This was a huge mistake.

—----

Dinner was short-lived, Benoit solved Miles' "mystery" in just a few short seconds and Ezra had to refrain from the urge to laugh once he saw his defeated face. The pair went upstairs, leaving Ezra and Elle with everyone else who deemed it was time to get royally hammered after their weekend was ruined. 

Duke's notifications went off, causing the glass vault to go back up. "You know, you could just power it down." Lionel suggested to Duke. 

"Ah, it's my Google Alerts. Got them for all you guys." Duke explained, taking a sip from his glass. "Whiskey, sports I like, general interests."

Ezra rubbed Elle's back while she leaned on him. She was tired even though it was only 8:30 but he couldn't blame her. The whole day was filled with…. things out of the ordinary. Plus she found another father figure and half her time was spent getting him and Ezra together. Well, Elle's work seemed to be done. They may never see each other again after Ezra leaves tomorrow. It was sad, thinking about the future and the fact that each time Elle would look at a magazine with Benoit's solved cases on the front cover, she would ache for something that could have been.

Lionel was unimpressed as Duke's phone rang yet again. "You have a Google Alert for the word 'movie?'"

"I like movies!" Duke defended. "Don't hate. Nerd." Says the guy who started off on Twitch as a gamer. 

Ezra took a sip of his drink, looked at the red table in front of him. His eyes glazed over as he thought about what may happen after this. He'd be glad to go home, back to his normal life. Which was weird to think that being an actor everyone sought over was normal. But it was for him. Though, Elle knew differently. He longed for someone to be with, and if that someone just so happened to be Benoit Blanc…. Well, wouldn't that be nice?

Birdie let out a relieved sigh as she sat down on the couch, "Thank God for Benoit Blanc. We don't have to spend the weekend spelling hedges." She sipped her drink through her straw.

"Well, I'm outta her. Tomorrow morning. Gone." Duke stated, waving his hand.

Whiskey shook her head, "We just got here." She was on the floor. Ezra wasn't sure why or how she got there and he didn't really care either.

Duke mockingly whined like a baby. Elle's gaze hardened at him, she could treat Whiskey much better than him. If only she could let him go and leave him, Duke didn't deserve her. Not to mention, Duke was at least twenty years older than Whiskey. "You can stay. Have fun."

"Fine. You're murdering my vibe." Whiskey grabbed the bottle of tequila next to her and stood up, walking outside.

Birdie whined, "No! Miserable in paradise. We've all earned this."

Andi walked towards the group, "Yes, you have." She seemed more tense than before. Perhaps she was gonna blow up again.

Ezra helped Elle stand from her place on the couch and retreated outside with her by his side. He didn't want to hear whatever argument that was going to happen. It would have been entertaining but Ezra's brain was close to shutting off. And if Elle was anything like her father, he knew it was the same for her.

Soon, Andi was leaving too. She stopped to say a few words to Whiskey then made her way to Ezra. 

"You-you are the only good one. And I don't blame you for leaving all those years ago." She said before running off. 

Ezra cocked his head somewhat confused while Elle looked off into the distance, admiring how the moonlight danced with the water. Whatever happened in there, must've been enough to set her off. Not that Ezra blamed Andi at all. After everything that's happened between her and Miles and suddenly she's cut out of the company. Ezra didn't know many details about why but he assumed it was because of something big…. 

His eyes widened, shaking his head a little. He was being dumb. It was because of that Klear stuff, wasn't it? Andi knew it was dangerous and didn't want Miles to be distributing across the entire country. No wonder….

—-----

Well, they certainly picked the wrong time to make their way back inside. Duke looked as if he was choking, falling down on one of the coffee tables until his harbored breaths were silenced. He died. Right in front of their eyes. Ezra immediately shielded Elle's eyes, holding her tight to his chest while Benoit inspected his body. 

"I'm afraid Mr. Cody is…. Is dead." Benoit said as he looked up at Claire. There was a certain sense of bewilderment in his eyes. He's seen plenty of deaths before, it was a part of his job, but none quite like Duke's.

Birdie started to scream while Whiskey cried, "No, Duke! No!" 

The rest of the conversation seemed to buzz in Ezra's ears. Someone killed Duke. That much was obvious. The question was who? And, well, there were only a select few on the island.

"Fuck." Ezra cursed under his breath, loosening his grip on Elle. "We have to get the fuck out of here." He ran a hand through his hair.

Sure, Claire could see the headlines but Ezra could see them too. He was an actor, a transgender one at that so criticism was something he was used to. But this…. This would be a whole new level. Ezra hated red-pill "truthers," so being on an island with one who just so happened to die would automatically blacklist him. Progressives in Hollywood wouldn't cast him anymore and the conservatives didn't cast him at all because he was trans. 

"My dear, hey, you're gonna be alright." Benoit told Elle softly, wrapping his arms around her for a moment while she sniffled softly.

Even if Duke was an asshole and a bitch, witnessing his death wasn't something Elle was particularly fond of. Sure, he might have deserved it with the harm he caused on little boys minds but…. This…. This was different. It would haunt Elle for the rest of her life, she was sure. 

"Boat can't come till low tide in the morning. Six am at the earliest." Lionel announced as he walked back.

Benoit patted Elle's shoulder for a moment before he looked at Lionel. "Do they understand the situation?" He asked with a frown.

"There is no other landing point, and Miles' dumbass Banksy dock was set to low-tide height and it isn't buoyant. It is a piece of shit." Lionel explained, tone very reasonably pointed at the man who decided to have said dock. 

Ezra wrapped a blanket around Elle's shoulders, knowing that sometimes she needed the weight to feel normal again. This certainly wouldn't help all the things going on inside her brain. And, holy shit, was Miles saying someone was trying to kill him and not Duke? Well, then they royally fucked up. Poison in the person's drink was rather cliché wasn't it? And clumsy because shit like this could happen. You could mix up the drinks and accidentally have given it to the wrong person. 

Hm, maybe Ezra could be the new Harlan Thrombey…. Without all the parts of suicide and…. Well, Benoit Blanc appeared in Ezra's life too. Maybe that was a sign.

"Forget about his phone. Look." Lionel pointed at Duke's holster…. Which was missing the gun. The gun that Duke was famous for always keeping with him.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…." Ezra ran a hand through his hair, squeezing Elle's shoulder to comfort her. Now someone was roaming around the island with a goddamned gun. So much for a little light hearted fun. 

Elle shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I can't believe this is happening." Her lungs were screaming for air, her esophagus closing up. "D-Dad…." She said weakly. She could feel her heartbeat going faster and faster. She couldn't breathe. 

She was having a panic attack.

Ezra's eyes widened. He knew these signs. He didn't care about what was happening behind him, he needed to focus on his daughter. "I'm right here, Elle, c'mon look at me, okay?" He tilted Elle's head towards him as he wrapped his arms around her. "Take a few big breaths, honey. I'm here for you, whatever you need, okay?" Ezra squeezed her tight, not missing the concerned look Benoit had for her. But it was like he knew Ezra would help her through it. 

"Blanc, you have to help me. Help me! Help me!" Miles yelled right before Benoit slapped him across the face.

Benoit shouted, "What happens at ten o'clock!" 

As soon as those words left his mouth, all the lights powered down. They were showered in darkness, the only light that didn't turn off was the lighthouse just outside. It rotated, causing only a sliver of light to run through the house. 

Against Benoit's wishes, no one stayed in the living room. Well, besides Elle and Ezra. Weirdly, the light seemed to help Elle out of her panic attack. Her heart was still beating fast but she could breathe again which helped marginally.

"Alright, that's good, sweetheart." Ezra said calmly, cupping her cheek softly as he wrapped a blanket around her. "I'll grab you some water, okay. Stay here." Turning on the flashlight from his phone, he found his way to the kitchen and grabbed a glass to fill it with water. Once he was back in the living room, Elle took it gratefully and downed it. Her throat was feeling better, less dry than before. "There we go." Ezra kissed the top of her head. "I love you, kiddo."

Elle buried her face in Ezra's chest, letting a few tears flow. "I love you too, Dad. So much."

—-----

"Who?" Claire asked, that's the thing all of them were thinking but it seemed only Benoit had the answers.

Benoit, looking off to the side for a moment, smacked his lips. "Well, I keep returning, in my mind, to the Glass Onion." Ezra cocked an eyebrow at him. He's heard of the weird ways Benoit had explained the truth of a case but…. What did the Glass Onion have to do with any of this? "Something that seems densely layered, mysterious and inscrutable. But in fact, the center is in plain sight. And that is why this case has confounded me like no other." Benoit gently rubbed Elle's arm before walking the length of the living room.

"Why, every complex layer peeled back has revealed another layer and another layer and come to naught." Benoit looked around at the room, at the different people standing in front of him as his eyes narrowed momentarily. "And that was the problem, right there. You see, I expected complexity. I expected intelligence. I expected a puzzle, a game." Where was he going with this? Ezra kept Elle close, not knowing if they were in a room with a murderer or not. "But that's not what any of this is. It hides. Not behind complexity, but behind mind-numbing obvious clarity. Truth is, it doesn't hide at all."

Ezra looked around the room. Who would be the most obvious choice to murder both Andi and Duke? He could think of many reasons why all of them would want to kill Andi but Duke? He was dumb, he had no ill intentions. At least, not to them. To the greater public? Probably. 

"I was staring right at it." Benoit sighed, feeling somewhat dumb for not assuming it at first. "The killer nearly struck my Achilles' heel. But thank high heaven, at the last moment, I realized what had teased my brain through this entire case… "inbreathiate." It's not a word." Benoit shook his head, glancing at Ezra for a moment. 

It seemed obvious he would start to catch on out of all of them. Not to say that Whiskey wasn't smart or the rest weren't but they all believed Miles and how "smart" he portrays himself to be. Ezra, on the other hand, does not. 

Lionel shook his head for a second, not getting how this related to anything. "What?" 

"'Inbreathiate.'" Ezra repeated. "It's not a real word, it just sounds like one but it's…. Made up. Like something a kid would say to sound smart." He explained, blinking a little as the pieces started to fall into place. 

"Precisely." Benoit nodded, "And "reclamation," that is a word. But it's the wrong word." His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, sighing. "This entire day… A veritable minefield of malapropisms and factual errors." Now, Ezra would be lying if he said he knew any of the words Benoit used in that single sentence but he was sure the detective was using them correctly. After all, Benoit had this way of speaking that felt like he would be more at home in the 40s or 50s if he should ever set foot in that time period.

Benoit turned and pointed out the window. "That is the Aegean Sea." Right…. Miles said the Ionian Sea. But if what Benoit was starting to say was true then… It was Miles all along. But he couldn't, right? Miles was too dumb to pull off a murder. 

"Oh, yeah. It is, it is." Claire said, not understanding what Benoit was trying to explain.

"His dick doesn't float. His wonder-fuel is a disaster. His grasp of disruption theory is remedial at best." Aw, and just when Ezra was going to turn to the dark side. Yeah…. No. "He didn't design the puzzle boxes. He didn't write the mystery. Et voilà. It all adds up. The key to this entire case. And it was staring at me right in the face." Benoit then clarified, clicking his tongue as turned back the group. "Like everyone in the world, I assumed Miles Bron was a complicated genius."

Ezra chuckled, shaking his head. "First mistake, Detective." He shrugged. Miles couldn't come up with his own idea if it saved a million lives. 

Ezra knew that and he warned Andi against partnering with Miles… but she didn't listen. And that's why he left. Sure, the transphobia was part of it but he couldn't bear to watch Andi throw away all her ideas and let Miles get all the credit. Alpha was hers, never Miles'. He just so happened to run into Andi and she took him along for the ride. 

Benoit glanced at Ezra, a slightly amused look in his eye. "Look into the clear center of this Glass Onion… Miles Bron is an idiot."

Whiskey covered her lips, a little shocked Benoit would say such a thing. Miles' jaw tensed, "Oh, please." He grumbled, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "Just tell us who tried to kill me."

"No one tried to kill you, you vainglorious buffoon." Benoit countered, shoving his hands in his pockets. If Miles was the murderer, Benoit certainly did not seem scared when he insulted him to his face.

Miles exclaimed, growing frustrated and not in the way that would make him seem innocent. "Duke took my glass!" He wouldn't make a great actor, Ezra could see all his tells easily.

Keeping his composure, Benoit looked at Miles unpressed. "That's what you told us he did. He must've picked it up by mistake, you told us, right after it happened." Ezra cocked his head slightly as he started to remember. It was right in front of them. Miles couldn't be that dumb? To attempt murder right before their eyes. "Ignore his lies, everyone, and think clearly now! What did we all actually see?"

"Y-You handed Duke your own glass. In front of us! And you lied. Made us think you didn't." Ezra said, letting go of Elle once it seemed she was alright. "I must admit I'm not sad that he's dead but…. You traumatized my kid for life.

"Blanc, Ezra… you're telling us Miles killed Duke?" Lionel asked in disbelief. 

Benoit nodded, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because the night Andi sent you all the emails, when Duke got to Andi's house early on his motorcycle he saw Miles leaving. Was almost struck by him." Benoit explained, Ezra wasn't following this time. What email? "In fact, he told all of us. Right in the open, he told us. That night, at Andi's." 

Claire nodded, rubbing her chin slightly. "That night…. Duke told us he almost got in an accident. He… pancaked?" She realized.

"Okay yeah, but Miles had been living in Greece the past six months." Lionel said. He couldn't accept the fact Miles would kill one of their closest friends. Even if Duke was…. Duke.

Benoit let out a light huff, a laugh almost. "No." It was clipped. "Whiskey." He made his way over to her. This piqued Elle's interest, what did all this have to do with her? "Miles saw you on your birthday in New York. Gave you that necklace for your birthday. You're a Taurus." He whispered.

"I am." Whiskey said in a light whisper as well before she realized, "Two weeks ago. May 9th."

Benoit shrugged as Peg ran back into the room. "Forget the hydrofuels, and the sweatshops, and the consensual cuckolding for cable news assignments." Cuckold? God, that had to be the first time he's ever said that for a case. It made Ezra snort out a laugh. 

"Sorry what?" Peg asked, face clear with confusion. 

"And focus! On the envelope." Benoit motioned with his hand to a staircase.

Everyone's heads turned at the staircase to reveal Andi descending from the steps. Birdie let out a shriek, while Claire yelled a few curses. Ezra, on the other hand, was utterly confused.

"Andi?" Lionel asked, appalled.

Ezra looked from Andi to Benoit, "What the fuck is going on?" She was dead not more than two minutes ago when he thought she was dead, the grief was just starting to set in until she came back.

"Who did the envelope threaten?" Benoit didn't expect Ezra to know, maybe he should have explained but it's not like Whiskey really would have known either. "Miles Bron." Almost as if Miles' mom just died in a house fire, his expression became sour and hardened. "That night, Lionel faxed Andi's email to Miles who received it in New York. The one thing that could destroy his empire of lies, the truth in the hands of the only person unafraid to tell it. So Miles drives his Baby Blue Porsche to the scene of the crime, and Andi let's him in." Benoit cocked his head at Miles, eyes narrowed.

Benoit never had any remorse unveiling the truth, especially with cases with such…. Shitheads. "Of course she did. Miles' machine of lawyers and power could destroy her through sheer dumb force. But Miles himself? Oh, she was clever enough not to fear Miles." If this was going where Ezra thought this was going… then who was the woman that looked exactly like Andi? "But she didn't see the real threat, the obvious threat until it was too late. Duke alone knew you were there that night, but he didn't know Andi was dead." 

Ezra ran a hand down his forehead. Wait… Andi had mentioned she had a sister to him, maybe a few times just when families were brought up in conversation. She didn't happen to say her sister was twin but… What else could this be? The actor looked up at the "imposter"—if he could really call her that–and realized. That had to be Helen.

"No, no, he didn't know that until this evening." Benoit continued as he pointed out, "Right here, when he got a Google Alert on his phone, which has now fallen strangely silent." He made his way around Miles and grabbed something from his pocket to reveal that Miles had Duke's phone ever since he died. Ezra was somewhat scared Benoit was feeling him up or something, thankfully it didn't seem Benoit had a kink for villains. "Which he showed to you… because you don't own a phone." 

"Did you really think you could stop all of them from finding out about Andi's death? They all have phones." The blonde made her way towards the group, her southern accent was thick.

"He didn't need to hide the death, he just needed to hide that Duke has shown him the death moments before he was killed." Benoit spun the tail a little further… Well, not so much spinning, more like weaving. Putting the pieces together so they could see the finished product more clearly. "Right out in the open, Duke showed him. And told him exactly what he wanted in return for his silence. So what does Miles do?" The Detective stepped away from the man in question.

The woman followed Benoit, "Does he keep a vial of poison in his tooth or something? Is that some rich person thing?" If it was, Ezra was in trouble. 

Benoit sighed, shaking his head in slight disappointment. "No, no, no, no, it's just… it's so much stupider than that. Birdie, what are the ingredients to your Cuban Breeze?" He asked.

Suddenly the attention was on her and it winded her for a moment. "Um, vodka, amaretto…."

"Oh, God." Whiskey gasped, raising her hands to her mouth as she realized. 

"And… pineapple juice." Birdie finished after a little while.

Benoit strained, slightly disgusted and appalled. "An allergy!" 

"He can't even have a drop." 

"Pineapple juice!" The detective exclaimed in frustration. "He just put pineapple juice in his whiskey! It's so dumb." He shook his head, raising a hand to his forehead to rub at it. It teased his brain in the worst way possible. 

Birdie, probably drunk, gasped in amazement. "It's so dumb, it's brilliant!" 

"No! It's just dumb!" Benoit exclaimed, rubbing a hand against his forehead.

Ezra didn't need to check as he went up to her while the rest went to check their phones, reading off the first article about Cassandra Brand. "You must be Helen Brand…" He said softly.

"You know Helen?" Claire asked. It seemed none of them knew who she was, or they didn't pay much attention when Andi told them about her.

Helen glanced from Claire to Ezra. "We met once. He was in Alabama for some movie and recognized me." She explained, fiddling with the red envelope in her hands as Miles realized… The person he just tried to kill wasn't Andi at all. But an entirely different character all together.

"And now we come to Helen's attempted murder. Which, I have to give you credit for, did have a sound foundation of thought." Benoit said, earning him a glare from Ezra. The actor could see it being a bad habit already, the detective praising a criminal for their creativity just because it tested him enough. But Ezra didn't mind if that was the worst thing about Benoit. "You realized the opportunity laid out in front of you. You have a house on a remote island, filled with desperate people, all of whom have a real-life reason to wish this woman harm. You–" Benoit paused suddenly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Miles. Something started to become abundantly clear in his mind.

Benoit continued, somewhat weary, "Furthermore, you have a loaded gun conveniently within reach. And the lights had even been turned off." He let out a heavy sigh as he brought a hand to his forehead. "Heavens to…" Ezra didn't want to laugh but the sound escaped him anyways. Benoit may have described Ransom and Harlan in an older case as "drama mamas" but he wasn't exempt from that description either. "You dim-witted, brainless… jackass!" Elle jumped a little as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her form. 

"Your one murder, with any panache at all, and you stole the whole idea from me." It seemed he knew how it felt now. Andi got her ideas stolen by Miles for years, the napkin wasn't the only thing. They all knew that.

Lionel cocked his head, "And after all that, you…. You still kept the envelope? Didn't burn it or anything?" He asked. It could have been seen as a trophy of some sort but if someone–like Helen–were to discover he still had it then his empire would fall. 

"You recognize this?" Helen asked, almost smug as she took the napkin out of its packaging. "Andi's handwritin'. I got you, son of a bitch." Miles almost looked scared. 

Miles shook his head, "Oh, let's slow down there, sister. Okay? Because first, how could you ever prove that that's the original?" He countered. "She might have copied mine."

"No. The bar closed nine years ago, and hers has one thing that yours just doesn't." Helen pointed at something, Ezra couldn't see what since he was standing behind her. However, Ezra was prepared to jump Miles if Helen asked him to. 

Miles hummed, glancing over Helen's shoulder to meet Benoit's eyes. "Okay, but second…." He clicked on his light to set the napkin aflame. 

Benoit and Ezra ran over to Helen. "What the hell did he do?" Benoit exclaimed as he looked at the pile of ash that suddenly formed at Helen's feet. 

"He just burned it!" Helen gasped as Benoit squatted down to see it for himself.

"Burned what? I didn't see anything." Miles shrugged.

Ezra growled, "You are acting worse than a child! And I should know, I have one." Elle pouted, shaking her head. At least Ezra raised her right. Who knows what Miles' parents were like. 

"This will not stand." Benoit ground out, his jaw clenching. 

Miles chuckled, "Uh-huh. Well, did you see this proof, this smoking napkin, Blanc?" He asked with a knowing smile. They had no more evidence. Nothing that could prove Andi's death. "No. Did anybody?" The group casted their gaze downward, defeated and silent. They couldn't go against Miles, he had them in his pocket. "Okay, then wow! Wow! We got some big accusations flying around here. Except, everybody seems to have a very foggy recollection of what they actually saw–"

"Well, I did see you burn something." Ezra countered.

"And there's nothing but totally circumspective evidence." Miles continued, completely ignoring Ezra like he did most of the time a decade ago. "So, if this was just us playing my murder mystery game, which we should have been doing all weekend, then Blanc wins an iPad Pro this time." He joked softly. "But this is the real world. And in the real world you need more than a neat, little detective story. You need evidence. And you've got… nothing. Do you?"

Ezra looked from Benoit to Helen. He was right. You need evidence and you need witnesses. And if Ezra was going to be the only to side with Helen then the courts would never work out in her favor. Miles had the majority here. 

Benoit pursed his lips, a sad glaze rolling over his eyes. He hated losing in a game as serious as this. "He's right." He sighed, pursing his lips. "The contents of that envelope and his possession of it were our only physical evidence."

"Right." Miles pointed at him, clicking on his lighter yet again to fiddle with it. "Wanna take that to the cops? You wanna take that to the courts?" He laughed quietly, "Look, pick your poison. Anywhere you go, it's going to be your word against mine. How do you think that's gonna go?" 

Benoit took his jacket from the glass pedestal he hung it from and put it on as he walked across the room, ushering Ezra with him by setting a hand on his back.

Miles shrugged, clicking his tongue slightly. "I think it's gonna go about like it went for Andi."

"Jesus." Lionel whispered under his breath, glancing at Helen. He could have been good. But no. Lionel wasn't quite there yet. 

"And I do want to say, your sister was a complicated woman, but she meant the world to me." Miles pursed his lips, trying his best to sound sincere. But if it was sincere… would he have ever killed her? "And I'm so sorry for your loss." 

Dejected, Helen made her way over to Benoit. "Blanc. I need you to do something." Tears started to form at the edges of her eyes, threatening to fall. After all this work and… nothing. 

"I'm sorry, Helen." Benoit shook his head, eyebrows drawing together. "I gave you the truth. This is where my jurisdiction ends. I have to answer to the police, the courts, the system. There's nothing I can do." He took a quick breath as he grabbed the glass with 'Andi' written on it. "Except maybe… offer you some courage." Benoit handed Helen the glass. "And a reminder of why your sister walked away in the first place." He quickly handed her something else, Ezra could only imagine what it was. 

Benoit turned away, whispering to Ezra, "I suggest you and your daughter come with me." He said. It was a very serious tone and Ezra hadn't had the time to think it through much so he followed his instructions.

Ezra grabbed Elle by her arm and walked outside, following Benoit to the docks. He wondered why Benoit was in such a hurry to leave. Or maybe… not? He didn't seem that worried. 

But, well…. The entire Glass Onion blew up a few minutes later and Ezra would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the fireworks. 

"Disruption." Benoit laughed as he took a drag from his cigar. 

"Fuckin' A." Derol laughed as well, his joint firmly between his lips as he lounged on a chair.

Ezra ran a hand through Elle's hair while a proud smile was on his lips. Helen sure knew how to shake things up, Ezra didn't mind though. Miles deserved to have his house blown up.