missthis_ass | (no subject)

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therese

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The problem with Nathan Drake -- one of the many, really -- is the way he's complicating Chloe's life in ways she had long ago sworn not to let him complicate things any further.

Once, she had been willing to leave with him. They had never truly promised each other anything, they'd never made so clear a commitment as the one he'd made to Elena, but there had still been a plan. Find the Cintimani Stone, sell the damn thing, give Harry his share of the pay and then take off. Together. It's as close as she's ever come to making that sort of promise to anyone and when Nate had gone back on it, Chloe had promised herself that was it. That would be the last time.

She's stuck with it, too. Charlie was a really good man, the sort she knows a woman like her could have gotten on with for a long time. He was a thief, like her, smart and attractive, he'd been kind and he'd challenged her and he'd been rather incredible in bed, but even still she'd refused to define what they were to one another. She'd let him believe she didn't care enough to do so because it was easier than risking what Nate had done to her.

And now here she is, wrapped up in him all over again, even if neither of them have said as much. In the weeks following the Purge, they've stuck close to one another and it's usually under the pretense of work, but not always. There have been nights, too, when it's just the two of them and a few bottles of beer and the television. That it feels so comfortable just serves to annoy her further.

She's been letting him distract her and so today, she's sworn to herself not to let it happen again. The compass isn't going to find itself and she's en route to a second hand store where the owner claims to know what she's looking for when she spots Therese, who is conveniently carrying her camera. It might not be the smartest thing in the world to drag her into this, especially when Chloe is unwilling to share all the details of what she's looking for, but she also knows she hasn't been paying her nearly enough attention lately.

So she smiles and waves, then motions for Therese to join her, one single finger curled in a beckoning gesture.

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Things have seemed strange, to say the least, since the Purge. Mostly, Therese hasn't let herself dwell on that much, because she was one of the lucky ones, because she made it through the night unscathed, but the aftermath — watching a city piece itself back together while simultaneously acting as if nothing outside of the ordinary has happened — has been a different matter altogether. The juxtaposition of repairs to buildings with the Christmas decorations that have been going up is a jarring one. It's made for some good pictures, both for leisure and for work, which has been busier than usual at this time of year, but she'd still prefer for none of it to have happened in the first place.

The season alone is distracting, too, but in ways that she's very much trying not to think about, holding her breath when she passes Christmas tree lots like she's a child passing by a cemetery. It's a different sort of ghost that she's afraid of, not someone dead, just lost. When she catches sight of Chloe, then, she smiles, warm and instinctive, unencumbered in a way she is with few people. Little as they've seen of each other lately, she'd be glad to have crossed paths with her now anyway, but it will be nice to have something else to occupy herself with, anyway.

"Hi," she says when she's reached Chloe's side, adjusting the strap of her camera bag on her shoulder. "It feels like it's been an age."

"It has been," Chloe says, seeing no sense in denying the fact that she's been a bit on the absent side. For all her faults, there is, at the very least, an honest side to her when there's someone she cares about involved.

She'd like to say she's been busy with work and that would at least partly be true, but the Purge had been more distressing than she'd like to admit to anyone, including herself. It's not as if she's never been in danger before, it's not as if she's never come close to losing Nate either, but that always happens when they're working, not when they're simply going about their day to day lives in a place as relatively uneventful as Darrow.

She leans in, touching Therese's shoulder and pressing a kiss to her cheek, then pulls back again with bright eyes and an equally bright smile.

"Are you busy, darling?" she asks. "I've a proposition for you and your camera."

Therese mirrors Chloe's smile after she draws back. It's a little easier, with Chloe, to take a chance on any sort of display of affection in public. They aren't and won't ever be anything serious, and she's alright with that — prefers it, even — but something about Chloe's company makes her a little more inclined to try to be brave. Besides, plenty of friends kiss each other on the cheek. To a passerby, it doesn't have to mean anything, making it just a little safer.

"No, I'm not busy at all," she promises. "And I'd be glad to help, if I can. What's the proposition?"

"I'm on my way to a second hand shop," she says with a grin, linking her arm gently through Therese's to lead her in the direction of the store. If she says no, if she's uncomfortable, that's fine and Chloe certainly won't hold it against her, but if Therese is willing to help, then Chloe does still have the appointment to keep.

"I've been looking for something in particular in Darrow and I've heard this shop owner might have a bit of an in, so to speak, when it comes to some of the trading that might go on in this city," she says. "All of it legal, of course, which makes him very willing to talk to a reporter and I would look much more legitimate if I were to have a photographer with me, taking pictures of the pieces he buys and sells."

He's legitimate, but Chloe isn't and she's sure that's clear enough in the fact that she's pretending to be a reporter just to get information from the owner.

"So you want him to think you're a member of the press," Therese says slowly, wanting to make sure that she understands right, "and so having me take pictures will make that more convincing." Even if it is all strictly legal, as Chloe has emphasized, she's sure that there must be something a little, well, shady about it. Chloe has told her about what she does for a living, or did, or however that works, after all. She probably ought to shy away from anything involving that. As before, though, there's something about Chloe's presence that makes her want to be brave, to hide in her shell a little less, and surely there can't be any harm in taking a few pictures. They'll be professional-looking ones, at least.

So she draws in a breath, squares her shoulders, and nods. "I think I can manage that."

"Well, he already thinks I'm a member of the press," Chloe says with a grin, pleased that Therese has agreed. She wouldn't have asked if this was the sort of thing that might get Therese into any trouble, because it's not as if the shop owner is going to find out anything at all about either of them. Chloe already has a fake press badge with a cover name on it and she'll just make something up for Therese once they're in there, she's always been good at thinking on her toes.

And any work that may occur on her part after the little interview will be entirely solo. She likes Therese too much to drag her into this world.

"This will just serve to make it a little more convincing," she continues. "I'm going to ask him about a few particular pieces he has and those are the ones I'm most interested in personally. Any photos of those would be very helpful to me."

"Alright," Therese says, smiling in turn, unable to help herself. It's mostly the look on Chloe's face that does it, honestly. Therese doesn't feel anything towards her but friendship and attraction — or, well, maybe a little more than attraction — but there's something about her that's hard to say no to. Besides, it's just pictures. There can't be any harm in taking a few pictures, and she really doesn't think Chloe would be leading her into anything dangerous without actually saying so. That's enough for her. "I'll take pictures of them."

She won't ask what Chloe intends to do after the fact. Chances are, the less she knows about that, the better, and she doesn't have a problem with that.

"Aren't you a darling?" she asks with a smile and she knows it probably won't be best to arrive at the shop with her arm linked through Therese's, but she does reach over and give her elbow a gentle squeeze in thanks.

Perhaps she ought to tell Therese more, but it's true the less someone knows the better. At this point, if she's to get caught and this is somehow traced back to the two of them, Therese can claim ignorance and it will be entirely the truth, which is easier to read than many people seem to think.

"How've you been?" she asks as they head toward the shop. "I've been a bit busy or I'd have checked in more often."

"Oh, it's alright, I think everyone's been busier than usual lately," Therese says, her own smile verging on apologetic, much like the day she told Chloe she'd been meaning to call but never got around to it. It's true, anyway. Between the Purge and the upcoming holidays, there's been more than usual to take pictures of for work, and she's been more distracted than usual, holiday decorations making it impossible not to think of the one person about whom she usually tries not to think. It's all the more reason for her to willingly do this now. At least she'll have something to occupy herself with. "But aside from that, I've been alright. I... Christmas isn't my favorite time of year, so some of this is a little... much, but at least it's not the Purge again."

"So should I not get you a gift then or should it be an extra special gift to make up for previous awful years?" she asks with a light in her eyes. If she goes after this shop, there's no reason not to go after another, maybe a place that will have something Therese will like.

Of course, given her last few jobs, she supposes she should probably just buy something if it's going to be a gift. It seems a little more thoughtful than stealing. Shops like the one they're about to go into tend to offer all kinds of treasures.

She's never cared much for Christmas herself. Her father having left them meant her mother was often in a rotten mood around the holidays and Chloe had been the only one around to bear the brunt of it. But she does like giving things to the people she cares about.

"You can get me a gift if you want to," Therese says, though her smile turns a little sheepish at that, "as long as it's not a camera." It isn't as if she needs a new one anyway, but it seems worth it to say, just in case, when she can't imagine what she would do if she opened a present and saw a nice new camera again. Too much of this time of year is too intertwined with memories of Carol for her, and when she's otherwise been trying her best not to stay in the past, to let herself move forward, the fewer reminders that she can get, the better. They're going to be everywhere else as it is.

Even her Christmases before that one were never really anything special, not after her father died and her mother left her at the school in Montclair, but none of them stand out to her now, all a blur of fairly miserable adolescent and teenage years. It was only that last one that counted, when Carol walked up to her counter in the department store and changed everything.

"You already have a camera, don't you?" she asks with an arched eyebrow, glancing down at the camera bag Therese has with her. She'd never presume to buy something like that anyway, she doesn't know the slightest thing about cameras and what would be considered good or what might be a piece of garbage.

She could do the same sort of research she would do for any of her work, but if Therese wanted a camera, Chloe assumes she would buy one for herself.

"Besides, you're the expert there," she says with a wave of her hand. "If I'm going to get you something, love, it's going to be the sort of thing I know about."

"Then there won't be a problem," Therese says, smiling mostly so she won't have to think too seriously about the camera Carol gave her and all the memories that brings back to her. She's mentioned before to Chloe that there was once someone else, told her a little of that story, something no one else here knows, but the details aren't anything she wants to revisit, not when it all feels so raw all over again. Better to leave it in the past where it belongs and focus on the here and now instead, with pleasant company and an almost sort of job to do.

She doesn't need to know what Chloe is planning to do with the items she'll be photographing. Her own part in this, whatever it is, involves no dishonesty, and that's enough to keep her comfortable with it.

"What about you? What should I get you?"

"Hm, maybe a nice night out for the two of us," Chloe suggests, although she honestly doesn't expect anything from anyone. Thieves aren't exactly the gift giving sort, not unless they've stolen the gifts and even then they're far more likely to keep things for themselves. Even at Christmas, she doesn't think about gifts for herself.

Darrow has changed a hell of a lot about her life, it seems.

"I'm easy, darling," she says, then grins as they reach the front door of the shop. She pauses with her fingers curled around the handle, then turns back to look at Therese as she adjusts the press badge pinned to her jacket. "Ready for this?"

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