Thank you for the prompt, @teiranlavellan! It made me super happy that you said this, my Cass doesn’t get much attention <3 and it’s such a cute prompt that it went to the top of my list! I hoped to answer you with the prompt fill that week, but that didn’t work :( Sorry.
I have a modern AU I want to write for these two someday, so this is like a prequel to that I guess?
There was this part that was going to be going through airport security, and this other part where the plane it oversold and they take her ticket, but then the stuff with United happened and I didn’t like it anymore
Belatedly for @dadrunkwriting
Cedric was standing in line at the airport, waiting to check his bag. The line was long, but there were plenty of… assistants? Whatever the term was for the people who check in your bags, so the line was going quickly. Or, at least it did, until some Nevarran woman started holding it up.
“Yes, I know I’ve already checked my bag, I was there. But I forgot to put my firearm into my luggage and I highly doubt security will let me take it to the gate, so I if you could just retrieve my bag—”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but your luggage is already on the plane,” explained the unfortunate attendant, simply trying to do his job.
“It is not on the plane—it went down that conveyor belt not two minutes ago; your service is not so prompt as that. Go back there and look, it’s the bag with the silk handkerchief tied at the top.”
“Ma’am, the conveyor belts go directly to the tarmac. It’s gone.”
“Then what do you suggest I do with my weapon? I can’t very well leave it here!”
The next attendant motioned for Cedric, her face full of apologies on behalf of the commotion. Cedric made sure to wear a friendly grin as he greeted her, handing over the ID and tickets he had ready. He pulled his bag onto the scale, and then had a thought.
He had time, while the employee processed his paperwork, so he quickly opened his suitcase and pulled his carry-on off of his shoulder. He dumped the contents of his shoulder bag into the larger one, checking all the pockets. He zipped his suitcase back up, standing it in time for it to take its turn on the conveyor belt.
With a nod and a “Have a good one!” he strode away, towards the loud, armed woman.
“Detective. Or Special Agent Pentaghast, if you’d prefer.”
Cedric walked over to the irate woman, now irritated himself. It always rubbed him the wrong way when people were unkind to the staff—as someone from a wealthy family, it was a problem he saw often. And he recognized the name ‘Pentaghast’.
“Here you go, Princess,” he said condescendingly as he deposited his now-empty shoulder bag on the counter in front of her. She turned to him in surprise, and the rest of the words he would have said left his head.
Holy shit, she was gorgeous.
“And just what am I supposed to do with this?”
Right. That. “Pack you gun, check the bag, and move on with your day,” he explained.
“But this is not my bag.”
“It is now.” The man behind the counter looked distressed, and Cedric sighed. He should not be trying to provoke the woman further. “Consider it a donation to the force in a time of need. Just doing my civic duty.”
Officer Pentaghast crossed her arms. “I cannot accept it.”
“Well I’m not taking it back!” he snapped, and stomped off. He had his own plane to catch.
He was sorely tempted to look behind him, so make sure the ridiculous woman wasn’t refusing the solution out of spite, but he resisted the urge.
Cedric made it through security just fine, and was headed for his gate when it occurred to him that all of his in-flight entertainment was now packed away in his checked bag. He saw a small bookstand, and stopped to browse for a bit. In the end, he selected some ridiculous Tethras bodice-ripper. It looked newly published, so hopefully when he was done with it one of his sisters would have room for it in their collection; at least two of his sisters read this series, he was sure.
By the time he boarded the plane he had put the incident with Detective Pentaghast out of his mind (or, at least, tried to—it was hard not to think of a woman like that.) He was one of the last First Class passengers to make his way on, moving at a leisurely pace.
Honestly, he should have expected to see the woman sitting there, in the seat next to his. He double-checked his seat number, just to be sure. Lovely.
She looked even less happy to see him.
He had to squeeze past her to get to his windowseat, unpleasantly aware that his butt was at the same level as her face.
She watched him as he sat and buckled the seatbelt, up until he met her eyes with an arched eyebrow. Her gaze darted away, but returned only a second later. “I should thank you, for before.”
“Yes, you should,” he replied dryly.
“Right.Well, I thank you. It was an effective solution, and generous of you.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it—I didn’t do it for you.”
He expected her to take offense to that, but she nodded calmly. “Even so.”
Silence followed, or as much silence as could be expected on a plane gradually filling with people. After nearly a minute she sighed with an irritated huff. “This is awkward, isn’t it.”
It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway. “It doesn’t have to be.”
“My name is Cassandra.” She twisted in her seat to offer her hand.
He shook it, and wondered if she was purposely gripping his hand painfully hard, or if that was normal for her. “Cedric.”
More silence. She shifted in her seat.
Eventually, she said, “I have to be in court tomorrow, for a hearing. I cannot be late. It was important that I did not miss this flight.”
Maker. She wasn’t going to spend the entire flight trying to redeem herself, was she?
Well, at least she knew she had made a spectacle of herself. “You don’t have to explain. We’re all on this flight for a reason.”
“Yes, but I—” She was interrupted by the flight attendant announcing the safety procedures over the speakers. Cassandra was quiet for a few second afterwards and Cedric thought that that would be the end of it, but as soon as he opened his book she spoke up again. “To be honest with you, Cedric, I was most concerned about my dog. I had not arranged for anyone to feed him tonight, because I was not expecting to be gone so long. It would have been a challenge to find someone, on such short notice.”
He was sorely tempted to point out why she might not have a lot of friends to rely on, but he resisted the urge. “I’m glad your dog will be alright. I’d have hated for him to go hungry.”
She nodded, and the sound of the plane engine revving for takeoff made talking difficult. He turned the page.
As soon as they were in the air she spoke up again. “Is that the new Swords and Shields?”
He sighed immediately. “Really, Princess, we don’t have to talk. I help you, you thanked me; let’s move on.”
Her cheeks flared red as her gaze drifted away, and he worried he’d gone too far. “I was only curious. I am… A fan of the series, myself.”
“Oh.” This time he was the one to shift uncomfortably. “I think it’s new. I’ve never read one of these things before, but I thought I would give it a chance.”
“Oh,” she parroted. “I hope you enjoy it, then. You really should start at the beginning, of course… But the books can stand alone. They can be... Cheesy, perhaps, but they’re worth it.”
He smiled, and relaxed. She did seem genuine, now, not like she was forcing it. “My sisters say the same thing—the two that read the series, anyway.”
“The two? How many do you have?”
“Oh, five and a half? Six?”
Cassandra gave him a queer look, and he laughed. “I have five full-sisters, and a half-sister. All older than me.”
“I cannot even imagine growing up with so many! How did you survive?”
“Oh, I could tell you some stories…” he said, and he did. She laughed, and returned the favor with her own vastly different stories of her older brother. That three hour flight passed far too quickly for his taste.
