#porsche feels bad using pete and does it anyway because his hands are tied. a clear conscience is not an option

[lu-sn]

Porsche pulls three strings. The first is Tankhun.

“He seems really down,” he says as he tosses a spattering of food into Khun’s koi pond. “I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Well, that’s easy,” Khun says haughtily. “We’ll take him to Hum Bar. Pete loves Hum Bar.”

The second string is less trouble than Porsche thought it would be. Kinn approves their outing with no fuss.

(Kinn does ask whether Pete really went home, though. Porsche fibs his way through that answer so poorly that he’s surprised Kinn doesn’t call him out for it.)

He leaves the third — the hardest — for last.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” he says quietly, arm slung over Pete’s slumped shoulders. “I can hold Khun Noo off. But… it would be nice. We all missed you.”

Pete is silent.

Porsche draws from a well of truth deep within himself, taking care to twist his words just-so. “Last time I was down, you took me to Hum Bar. Do you remember? I really did feel better after that. It helped just to get away from here.”

Pete’s eyes slip shut. “I remember,” he mumbles.

“It’s worth a try, right?” Porsche pleads.

He waits, heart thudding against the confines of his chest until, finally, Pete nods.

-

Porsche [16:32] : we’ll be there

+6676603223 [16:32] : Okay

Porsche watches as the typing bubble flickers in and out of view.

+6676603223 [16:35] : Thank you.

Porsche cannot even begin to process that. So he deletes the message thread, erasing all evidence of his covert dealings — save for the awful, gnawing pit in his stomach.

-

#kpanniversary2024 episode 13 + prompt 13: secrets