Chapter Text
Just like every other event held in the glittering Fairfax ballroom, the party wasn’t technically about Maximillian Fairfax. But just like every other event, the attention was orbiting around the illustrious tycoon, as fawning guests vied for his attention in the center of the dance floor. The only things identifying the event as a birthday party were the plain banner strung across one wall and the minimally decorated vanilla cake- a true Fairfax, after all, would never indulge in childish things like balloons or chocolate.
Arin Fairfax, the actual celebrant, sat quietly under that banner as they picked at their meagre slice of cake, already tired of the whole thing. When they were younger they had pouted and complained at being ignored, but that impulse had long been beaten out of them. (Metaphorically beaten, of course; it would be unsavory for a Fairfax to be seen walking around injured.) Now these social gatherings involved less emotional turmoil and more exhaustion at having to force a smile and make conversation for a socially acceptable amount of time. At least business-related parties included a few engineers and designers with a blessed absence of manners, but this birthday had only the socialites and attention seekers- all of whom felt obligated to give Arin attention.
Speak of the devil…Arin sighed heavily as they saw another set of socialites coming to pay their respects. At first glance they were a forgettable pair of businesspeople with too-wide, pasted on grins, accompanied by a girl around Arin’s age- their daughter, most likely. But the second glance revealed something much stranger. The girl was considerably more fashionable than her parents, a rare feat for someone her age, who would ordinarily be dressed by their family. It also seemed as if she was the one leading them over to Arin’s table, walking at a merry pace that bordered on a skip. Any respectable member of high society did everything in their power to avoid being shown up- allowing one’s own daughter to do that to them would be a stain on their credibility for months. The grins on her parents' faces had started to look less like politeness and more like strain at having to manage their boisterous girl.
“This is going to be interesting,” Arin muttered to no one, before setting down their fork and standing to greet her. Even this simple action did not go unnoticed by the crowd, as Arin had so far refused to show the same courtesy to all of the other guests. People nearby turned to stare, then whisper into their hands, speculating at the special treatment this mystery girl was getting. She, at least, took it in stride, widening her smile and slowing her pace to a more dignified strut, clearly basking in the attention of both Arin and the room.
Almost against their will, Arin’s eyes shot a glance at their father. Maximillian had also taken notice of the commotion around his child, but as always his face remained completely unreadable. No doubt he had filed away the moment for later consideration, but there was no telling what he had to say on the matter.
Arin wasn’t sure why their father’s opinion still mattered to them. Even after everything, a part of them flinched at the thought of disappointing him- and a larger part tried to disappoint him on purpose. Neither impulse felt right, but Arin just couldn’t stop themselves from checking his reaction after everything they did.
Thoughts of their father were shaken away as the girl finally completed her path across the room. Up close, Arin could see a near-manic glee in her eyes, a far cry from the polite smiles they had seen the rest of the night. Without any consideration for decorum, she reached over the table and gripped Arin’s half-outstretched hand with both over her own, vigorously shaking it as she plainly stated “I’m Mina Ha! We’re going to get married!”
Arin’s eyes went wide with shock. Their mind shot in a dozen directions, each one considering a different baffling detail of that statement. Strangely, the logistics of the situation were the first point Arin landed on. Many wealthy families had attempted to marry into the Fairfaxes, but those requests were always passed through Maximillian, who swiftly turned them down. Arin found it hard to believe that Mina had managed to get through that particular barrier- they doubted anyone who spoke to Maximillian walked away this jovial. That would mean that Mina was proposing directly to Arin, another clear deviation from social norms. Either she didn’t know how things worked or just didn’t care- Arin wasn’t sure which would be more surprising.
The Ha name was another shock. Arin did their best to keep up with wealthy society, both at their father’s insistence and for their own interest. The Ha family’s rapid and consistent ascent to wealth had been a near constant topic of conversation for years; despite appearances, they were apparently quite skilled at business. Thanks to this, their daughter had lived a life of luxury since she was a little girl, which rumors would suggest had made her spoiled and arrogant. Arin was amused to learn that, for once, the rumors had been underselling the truth- Mina Ha was far stranger than anyone claimed.
Mina’s parents, at last catching up to her, made an attempt to smooth over the situation. Her mother meekly interjected, “Mina darling, we said that you could request for a marriage, but these things-”
She swiftly whirled to face her parents, nearly dragging Arin across the table as she was still holding their hand. “I am making a request!” she whined, “Now would you shut up so I can talk to my fiancee?”
Arin let out a nervous peal of laughter. Who spoke to their parents that way? And in public, no less. Arin wouldn’t dream of speaking to Maximilian in anything near that tone, and that thought lit a strange bitterness in them. A part of Arin- the same part that had decided to stand for Mina in the first place- wanted to see how far they could push this firecracker of a girl, if they could maybe get her to explode completely. Mostly, they were bored out of their mind, and taunting Mina seemed like easy fun.
“For the record, Miss Ha, you didn’t actually request anything. The way you said it, it was more of a statement of fact.”
She made another rapid turn to face Arin- they wondered where she got all that energy from. “So what? Obviously, you’re not going to turn me down. Who could say no to me?”
This time, Mina’s father attempted an interjection, sternly starting, “Mina, that isn’t how a lady-”
Mina didn’t even bother speaking to him, simply meeting him with a harsh glare. All the authority melted out of him quickly, and he flinched back as if preparing to be struck.
Well, they can’t say no to her, Arin thought. Politely, they tried to steer the conversation back to its initial topic; attempting to correct Mina’s behaviour was clearly futile.
Is it seriously easier to talk to her about marriage than it is to talk about manners? Another thought hastily brushed aside. Whatever the hell was going on with Mina Ha, they might as well go along with it.
“While I surely can’t reject a girl like you, ” they continued, making sure to lay the sarcasm on thick. “I’m afraid your mother had a point.” At least, Arin assumed she had a point; she hadn’t exactly gotten to finish her thought. “If you’re planning on obtaining the Fairfax name, you’ll have to go through my father. These things are handled by the adults most of the time.” They began to raise their still-clasped hands up to their lips. “But I sincerely hope he gives you more consideration than he gave the other social climbers.” With that, Arin placed a kiss onto the back of Mina’s hand, startling her into releasing her death grip.
Mina quickly jerked her hand back to her side, conspicuously wiping it on her skirt. “Ew! I’m only- I just want to be a Fairfax, okay! I’m not in this to get married to you or anything. It's a coincidence that you’re the only Fairfax heir. Don’t start getting any funny ideas, weirdo!” With that bold declaration, Mina turned on her heel and stormed towards Maximillian, leaving her parents to meekly apologize before hurrying after her.
Arin stared after her for a brief moment with their mouth agape, quietly protesting “How am I the weirdo here?”, but she was already well out of earshot. They had hoped their veiled disrespect could get a rise out of Mina, but she had pulled back the veil with no shame at all, plainly revealing her true intentions behind the proposal. Still, her embarrassment had betrayed her at the end; her hasty pace and dark crimson blush made it clear the kiss had affected her. Arin chuckled to themselves, satisfied that, if nothing else, it had been a fun conversation.
For a moment Arin legitimately considered what it would be like to be married to her, and for her to become the next heir to Fairfax Industries. The mental image of Mina Fairfax in a pressed suit, repeating one of Maximilian’s business adages in a somber tone finally broke the dam of Arin’s congeniality. They erupted into a full blown laughing fit, hunching over the table as they started replacing memories of Maximilian with Mina- placing the hot-blooded woman’s face over Maximilian’s stern authority, forming a nonsensical chimera of the worst the upper class had to offer. They imagined her in all variety of intense business circumstances; reading statistics off of slideshows, chewing out interns in their cubicles, holding press conferences in front of flashing lights. Their imagination had run completely off the rails now- they were fairly certain Fairfax didn’t have any interns- but they couldn’t stop the flood of ridiculous images. At this point they were near wheezing, completely enamoured by the thought of Business Mogul Mina Ha, and how her complete disregard for even the most basic rules of human society would tear through the gloom of Fairfax Industries like a tornado. Arin hoped, slightly more sincerely this time, that the two of them really would end up married, if only to see these inane fantasies played out in reality.
That thought was what finally soured their humor. Maximilian had never approved of any potential marriages, and he certainly would not be changing his mind for Mina Ha of all people. A spoiled, power-hungry, egotistical girl like her was already a nuisance to most wealthy social circles. Handing her any amount of real power would be a disaster waiting to happen. With one last mirthful exhale, Arin returned to their seat, finally deciding to stuff a forkful of cake into their mouth.
As expected, it was completely tasteless.
…
Weeks later, Arin was sitting in their spacious living room, watching their tea go cold as they waited to have a meeting with Maximillian. For anyone else it might have been strange to think of a conversation with their father as a “meeting”, but Arin was used to that kind of language by now. They had long settled into a businesslike relationship with their family, and they assumed this wasn’t going to be anything more than business.
Though “hoped” would be a better word than “assumed”. They wiped their hands on their pants, feeling mounting nervousness over the potential topic of today’s meeting. Arin had been walking on eggshells ever since their birthday party- and their rather uncouth breakdown- but Maximillion had not yet given any comments on the event. Arin was convinced that today was going to be the grand comeuppance for all the mistakes they made, but the uncertainty was starting to get to them.
Almost abruptly, their anxiety halted, replaced by a seething disdain. Being late on purpose, dancing around the topic of the meeting- it was just like Maximillian to use negotiation techniques on their own child. Arin scoffed under their breath, now completely certain that this whole song and dance was overplaying yet another menial admonishment. There probably wasn’t even anything important to talk about, Maximilian just wanted to exert some control over Arin’s life. Well, fine.
Just as Arin started to defiantly lean back into the couch, Maximilian finally walked into the room, causing them to bolt upright again. They felt an odd tinge of shame at having been “caught” in whatever they were just doing, and cast their eyes downward as they waited for Maximilian to speak. Without sitting, he reached down to grab his tea, taking a polite sip before beginning.
“I have spoken with the Ha family. You are to be married to Mina once you are both of age.”
Arin was grateful they hadn’t opted to drink any of their tea, because they surely would have spit it out. They felt a strange tinge of deja vu as they reeled from the abruptness of the topic. Didn’t anyone in this damned city know how to ease into a conversation about marriage?
Wait. Arin was going to get married?
To Mina?
“What the hell?!”
“Excuse me, Arin?”
Shit. Had they said that out loud? They almost apologized for their outburst, before they decided that, all things considered, it was a fairly reasonable question.
“You’ve rejected every marriage proposal until now. What changed? And why her?” Arin allowed some indignation to enter their voice, affronted that a decision of this caliber was made without their input.
Maximilian’s harsh glare quickly muted that indignation. Clearly, the head of Fairfax Industries did not enjoy being questioned. “Business necessity. The Has are rapidly growing, enough to become a threat soon. Integrating their family into ours will be the most effective way to prevent any future problems.”
Arin ground their teeth together. Maximilian’s cold, straightforward attitude was what really made him so intimidating to talk to. He never bothered with sugarcoating or white lies, even when using his own child as a business pawn.
Although, if Arin was being entirely honest, they had grown to appreciate their father’s way of speaking. So many others in the upper class were exhausting to try and talk to; Maximilian, at least, meant what he said.
And, if they were even more honest, they didn’t mind being a pawn all that much.
“Don’t they have any other children? We both know Mina is going to be a problem.”
“No, they do not. What’s the matter? You got along fine with Mina at your birthday.”
And there it was. Arin knew their father was upset over that, he’d just been too busy to bring it up. Arin wondered if this engagement was all one elaborate reprimand- but no, even Maximilian had a limit to his pettiness.
“I…apologize for my conduct at my birthday,” Arin started, hoping their meekness might help their case. “But that was innocent teasing of a person we both know is not fit to be a Fairfax. I thought her marriage proposal was a big joke- surely, you don’t mean to add someone like her to our family?”
“It is not a matter of adding her to our family, but of adding the Has to the Fairfax empire. I am well aware of her problematic tendencies, and have discussed them at length with her family. It’s unlikely she will cause any significant problems, and any damage she does end up doing will be necessary collateral. Who knows? Perhaps your endless whining will be the thing to temper her rambunctiousness.” Maximilian’s mouth twitched in the barest hint of a smile, despite the clear lack of humor in his tone. With that, he set his teacup back on the table, swiftly turned on his heel, and walked out of the room, calling for his chauffeur to take him to the office.
After he left, Arin began to ponder the absurdity of the last few weeks. They had gone from the largely-ignored scion of Fairfax industries to the fiance of wealthy society’s most infamous brat. Under their breath, they repeated “What the hell?”, except this time there was no fire left in them. Whatever Maximilian said, that was that, no point trying to fight it. They bristled at Maximilian’s commandeering nature, but even that fizzled fairly quickly; despite everything, Arin admitted it would be hard to call this an act of complete tyranny. Maximilian had made no mention of feelings or love; Arin doubted he even expected them to live in the same house as Mina, much less have any kind of relationship. It really was all business for him, and if nothing else, Maximilian knew how to run a business. Having looked into the Has these last few weeks, Arin had to admit the rationality behind the engagement.
But rational or not, it was completely insane to dump a marriage onto them, especially a marriage with her. Trying to think of a way out of this, they racked their brain, considering their options for the future- either get married to Mina, or try to change Maximilian’s mind.
With a heavy sigh, they realized there really was no choice at all.
…
Naturally, Mina was late.
Arin sat at the empty table and tugged at their clothes, the mixture of nervousness and irritation causing them to fidget. They were meeting at a small coffee shop to discuss some of the details of their marriage, and (as Maximilian had put it) to “Get to know each other”. Arin was under no false pretenses- neither of them would have any real influence on the wedding, nor would their getting along affect things even a little. Most likely this was an attempt to get them out of the house so the adults could hold a real meeting. Maybe this was even some kind of punishment from Maximilian for all of Arin’s pouting over the last few days.
A small part of them had even thought that maybe this was all Mina’s idea, that maybe she had wanted to see Arin, and had pushed their families for a meeting. But as the minute hand on the clock ticked forward- indicating Mina was now a full thirty minutes late- Arin’s strange hope had been completely wiped.
They caught their thoughts abruptly- what exactly had they been hoping for? That Mina would be a blushing bride, eager to be swept up in their arms now that their marriage was imminent? Ridiculous. Their singular meeting at the birthday made it clear what she wanted out of this marriage, and it had nothing to do with Arin.
But did Arin want Mina to want them? All that time alone in this cafe (Maximilian had rented out the entire building for privacy’s sake) had made Arin start to go stir-crazy. Their mind had been running in circles, completely unsure of their own feelings.
What did Mina want out of this meeting? What did Maximilian want? What did Arin want? Why couldn’t they get their damn collar to sit right? Why did that even matter to them? Was the tea they ordered any good, or did they just have a taste for shitty artisanal drinks? Would Mina like it, or did she prefer coffee?
Why they hell were they thinking about Mina so much?
On and on their mind went, oscillating wildly between being angry at Mina, being angry at Maximilian, being enamored by the thought of Mina pissing off Maximilian, then being mad at themselves for being enamored by Mina. Somewhere in there, they wondered if this was all some elaborate mind game- maybe Mina wanted to get back at them for the way they talked to her at the party. At this point, they didn’t even care. With a sigh (they’d been doing a lot of sighing lately), they slouched back in their chair and took a huge bite of a now-stale pastry, convinced they had been stood up.
Of course, this was the moment Mina chose to glide into the cafe, her heels smoothly clicking against the tile floor. With effortless grace, she closed her parasol and slid into her chair, startling Arin into nearly choking. They were hit with another pang of deja vu as they remembered the last time they had been “caught” relaxing; Mina and Maximilian really were too damn similar.
“Did you start eating without me? Rude.” Mina took a chomp of her equally stale pastry, apathetic to Arin’s distress.
After a momentary coughing fit, Arin harshly swallowed their bite, before angrily replying “Seriously? I’ve been waiting here for forty five minutes.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of being fashionably late? Also, our meeting time was only half an hour ago. Sounds like you were unfashionably early. Wanted to see me that badly?”
Arin ground their teeth together, preparing another biting response. Then they paused, remembering Mina’s hurried retreat at the end of their last encounter, and decided on a different approach. Mina had been (unknowingly) making a mess of Arin head for the last thirty minutes- it was time for some payback.
With a sly grin and a honey-sweet tone, they answered “Well, you caught me. I just couldn’t wait to see that pretty face of yours.”
Mina’s eyes went wide, shooting over to look at Arin- which only inspired them to grin wider, pleased that they had gotten a reaction out of her.
“W-well, I guess that makes sense. I do have a p-pretty face.”
Despite the brashness of her words, Mina had turned a bright red, and she was dutifully avoiding eye contact. Absentently, she brought a hand up to one cheek, as if confirming that her face was, in fact, pretty.
She really is cute when she’s embarrassed, Arin thought to themselves.
…What?
They were supposed to be making Mina flustered, and she managed to turn it around on them without even trying. It was fortunate that Mina was still looking away- they weren’t sure what kind of face they were making, but they were sure it would throw off their plan. Arin pinched themselves under the table to steel their nerves, unwilling to lose whatever imaginary competition they were in.
In a similar attempt to steel herself, Mina clumsily grabbed for her teacup, nearly knocking it off the table. Without thinking, Arin shot out an arm to steady her, placing a hand on the back of hers to stop the teacup from tipping over. As soon as the liquid stilled, they both jerked their hands back as if they had been burned; if not their hands, their faces definitely felt as if they were on fire.
God, was Arin this worked up over touching her hand? She was pretty, sure, but it wasn’t exactly their first time meeting an attractive suitor. What was it about Mina that had them so on edge?
“Oh, um. Thanks,” Mina sputtered out. “I guess I’m a little nervous-”
With a start, Mina clamped her hands over her mouth, clearly ashamed at having been so forthcoming.
“I mean- tired! I’m just tired, definitely not nervous to meet you!” Her voice had escalated to a shrill whine, as she energetically waved her hands and tried to wipe away her slip-up. “Just forget I said anything! This whole meeting is a sham anyway, I’m only here to get out of my parents’ way. I’d rather be anywhere else!”
Arin felt their pulse calm as they started to regain the advantage. A sincerely anxious Mina would have opened the door to feelings they’d rather keep locked up, but the obnoxiously overconfident version of her was easy to rile up further. They leaned forward onto their elbows, hoping that years of etiquette training would be enough to mask their emotions, as they let their face morph into a casual smile. “Are you saying you want to get out of here?” Arin replied, dipping into the most sultry tone they could manage.
Somehow, she managed to flush even redder, letting out something between a gasp and a squeak out of indignation.
“P-p-perv! Why the hell would I do t-that with you! Just because you’re kind of cute doesn’t mean I’ll just- just- ugh!”
She seemed almost ready to slap them, or maybe run straight through the wall of the cafe. Arin couldn’t stop themselves from bursting into laughter at the look on her face. “I meant that we could take a walk through the park, get out of this stuffy place. What did you think I meant?”
Mina looked absolutely mortified for a moment, before scraping her chair back and storming out. With another boisterous laugh, Arin rushed after her, scooping up their unfinished snacks and leaving behind a hefty tip.
Mina was hurriedly walking in what could have been a random direction, as Arin trailed behind unspeaking. Maybe that was a little too far. They felt a slight worry that she might stomp all the way back home out of sheer embarrassment, but they were pleasantly surprised to see Mina turn off the street into a nearby park. The smell of fallen leaves and damp grass hit them as they crossed the threshold, and they both slowed to take in the warm Autumn air.
Arin had suggested a park mostly on a whim, but it really was a beautiful sight. With her sudden flight at an end, her pace slowed to a familiar regal stroll as she studied the birds and flowers along the side of the path, soaking in the atmosphere around them.
At times like these, Arin marveled at just how little the Maelstrom had really affected the natural world. With the way history classes told it, the opening of the eclipse had flipped everything on its head, but the singing of birds and the chill in the air all seemed fairly normal. Then again, Arin had never known a world without the astral gates; hell, even Maximilian had barely had a “normal” life before the public learned about the supernatural. Maybe Arin had just gotten used to the new normal, without even realizing it.
But that was enough introspection. They had a mission to complete, after all.
“Beautiful weather, isn’t it Miss Ha?” They moved in next to her and put out an arm for her to hold on to. “Now I can see why you were in such a hurry to get here.”
She haughtily smacked their arm away, choosing instead to snap open her parasol and fire a menacing look over her shoulder.
“You’re right, it is a beautiful day. Too beautiful to be wasting with a cretin like you.” With that, she took a few deliberate steps forward, trying to put some distance between them.
Arin grinned as they easily caught up with her, which was enough to inspire another dirty look from Mina as she sped up further. Arin only responded by increasing their own pace, easily matching Mina’s limited mobility in her heels. Pretty soon, they were both near running after each other through the park, Arin’s jovial taunting trailing behind Mina’s aggravated huffs. After a few minutes, they stopped at a bench, both out of breath.
Both of them turned to look at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, then collapsing onto the bench. Still panting from exertion, Arin turned to face Mina, intended to pass her their discarded pastries, before pausing at the sight. There was still a faint smile playing at her lips, mixed in with her usual sardonic annoyance, as she leaned back against the bench. Her face was reddened from the exercise, as droplets of sweat ran down her slender neck. The sunlight gave a sheen to her dark hair, rendering the whole scene in a kind of splotchy beauty- like looking at a painting under museum lights, where the brightness brings out the depths of the artist’s technique. Arin, for the first time, found themselves truly considering Mina’s position in life. Her parents hadn’t grown up with the same wealth that she had, and didn’t carry themselves the way that the generationally wealthy did. Mina would have had to teach herself everything about upper class society- manners, fashion, etiquette- but she did all of it without complaint. In fact, she reveled in it, being on the cutting edge of fashion, attending every important event, making sure that she was someone important. Even if they couldn’t understand it, a part of them admired her dedication to excellence.
Still, they had to know…
“Why?”
Mina turned to look at them quizzically.
“Why do you want to get married to me so badly?”
“Because I want the power of the Fairfax name. Nothing else.”
This time, there was no bashfulness in her voice. She wasn’t trying to dodge the implication of the question like before- she was telling Arin the honest truth.
“Really? You’ll go through an entire marriage just for a name?”
“For the power of the name. So that I can have even more than I do now. So I can keep climbing up. More wealth, more influence, more people who know and love Mina Ha. Why do you ask? Does your bleeding heart have a problem with someone selfish like me? Not that it matters, of course. We’re going to get married, no matter what.”
With that declaration, Mina reached out and snatched the half-offered pastry, nibbling on it as she watched Arin’s reaction.
Arin had spent so much of their life hating the vile, self-serving upper class- people exactly like Mina, really. But the honest, straightforward way she described her dream made them reconsider things.
Maybe what it took to bring change was someone like her- someone who wanted power enough to reach out and grab it, but who wasn’t monstrous enough to use it for something terrible.
Or maybe they were just falling for the silver tongue of a pretty girl. Maybe she would be another Maximilian Fairfax, extending the reign of oppression and monopoly, and it would be all Arin’s fault.
Being responsible for the success of Mina’s evil plan wasn’t as worrying of a prospect as it probably should have been.
“Fine then. Let’s make a deal. If we do get married-”
“When. Not if.”
“...When we get married, you take over as the heir to Fairfax Industries. The business, the parties, the real estate- you handle all of it.”
“Are you serious?! Why would you just give that up?”
“I never wanted it in the first place. The money, the servants, the people begging for your approval. It makes me sick, the way people treat my father just because he’s rich and powerful- the way they treat me just because I’m related to him. I just want to live a simple, honest life. One that has people I can really trust, with things I worked for with my own two hands. So promise me- whatever happens after the marriage, you leave me the hell alone. Deal?”
“Deal. And don’t you dare change your mind later!”
They shared a roguish grin before turning away, laughing. As they both looked out over the falling leaves and waving grass, they pondered the strange details of their engagement.
A person who always wanted more, and a person who had it all and wanted to get rid of it.
It really was the perfect arranged marriage.