#violet arkady is great because what a trope

[jaggedwolf]

Fake Dating

"Captain, you're doing a great job." Brian's voice crackled through the comms. "Arkady, could you stop sounding like you're about to divorce her?"

Brian was definitely exaggerating. Arkady had talked to Sana like she always had, and that usually worked - this was a new con for the two of them

Despite her silent wish for him to stop, Brian continued speaking as Arkady and Sana weaved their way through the crowd of the art gallery. "I didn't expect she'd do a better acting job than you."

Arkady scowled and bent her head down while pretending to fiddle with her tie, tilting the mic closer to her mouth to mutter. "Why do we have to pretend to be married again?"

Instead of Brian, Violet replied. "The gallery opening's for married couples only and you two had a pair of IDs with the same last name - is that head injury from last week bothering you? You're the one that put together the information on this event."

Great, she sounded genuinely concerned. Arkady smoothed a smile over her face as Sana frowned at her, leading Arkady by the arm towards a corner of the room.

"It was a rhetorical question, Liu," Arkady said through gritted teeth. She was looking forward to getting Brian and Violet clean IDs already so they could pretend to be a couple at some stupid fancy event and see how they'd like it. Except they'd probably have something intelligent-sounding to say about the giant painting Arkady had let herself be led to - a splotch of red paint in the center of a pitch black canvas - and how it was a part of so-and-so movement. Seemed like the kind of random thing they'd know. Nerds.

Instead, Arkady glanced at it for a hot second and came up with a bunch of bullshit, because it was either pretend to be interested with the art or pretend to be besotted with Sana, and the former was way less weird.

Sex, because everyone loved relating art to fucking and it was Valentine's Day. A statement on war, that single red light in darkness that told you a pulse laser was about to go off. Oooh, she could always go for the classic-

"Katie, what do you say we stop replying to comms tonight, hmm?" Sana said, passing her glass of champagne she must have picked up from one of the many waiters pacing through the room.

Arkady sighed and took a sip of her drink. Annoyingly smooth-tasting. She had been kind of obvious while snapping at Violet, but people talking over their comms was more of an etiquette breach than a cause for suspicion. "Fine."

"Does yours also always have to be available all the time?" A tall red-headed man stepped up to the two of them, a wide grin on his pale, freckled face. He stretched out a hand to Sana. "Luke Patterson."

"Jessica Nair," said Sana, shaking hands with Luke and smiling at Arkady. "And yes, you'd think I'd be used to it after 2 years with her."

Arkady raised her eyebrows at her. Was Sana really using this as an opportunity to complain about her tendency to keep talking on the comms? Well, Sana hated the whole pretending thing, so whatever made it work for her.

Luke let out a chuckle. "Tell me about it. Mine's a lawyer, which basically means I have to book him by the hour and even then it's calls, calls, calls."

Arkady looked him over as discretely as she could. No sign of a concealed weapon. Could be a normal guy bonding with a stranger about busy partners, but she was only seeing him from one angle. Nothing ruled out yet.

"You know, I didn't hear you complaining when all those calls got us that vacation house over on Katania." Another man walked up, shaking his head at Luke. His dull grey three-piece suit screamed more business than fancy party.

He looked weirdly familiar to Arkady, which was worrying. This wasn't really the kind of social circle anyone she knew would find themselves in. She stole glances at him, pretending to be occupied with her drink while they kept talking.

Black hair in a short ponytail, thick-rimmed glasses that were either for style or some other functionality, any lawyer with his kind of money would have fixed his eyes long ago. Sana herself was wearing a pair of glasses with a camera for the others to comb through the footage, and kept wrinkling her nose in discomfort every ten minutes or so. It was kind of funny.

"It is a lovely house," Luke nodded in acknowledgement. "But I'd appreciate it more if my husband would take time off to go there with me."

"Your husband certainly wishes he could," the man smiled, "Now will you stop complaining about me and let me introduce myself to this poor couple you've troubled?"

Luke took a gulp from his own drink, gesturing for his husband to go on. The man shook hands with Sana, and suddenly Violet's voice burst through the comms. "Oh no no no no. I think it's okay, though?"

Arkady's face remained composed effortlessly as she shook hands with Luke's husband, while Violet's voice went out of range of the cockpit comms. What the hell was she freaking out about now? "Katie Nair."

"Ben Liu." He smiled. "Again, sorry about Luke."

"Well, it all kind of started with my wife complaining about me," said Arkady, mock glaring at Sana, her mind going into overdrive. The last name and his face alone might have done it, but Violet's little freakout ensured the thought was there now, and wouldn't go away. "So really, I'm sorry."

“It’s that only child syndrome, always focusing on myself.” Arkady let out short laugh, ignoring the quick questioning look Sana shot at her. Might as well risk it if Violet wasn’t going to enlighten them. “Do you have any siblings, Ben?”

"No, I'm afraid I'm an only child too."

"He isn't lying." Violet's voice returned, sounding strained. "He has a cousin."