Song: good vibes playlist by Mellow Sounds

Lilah huffed, setting down the overpriced perfume with a disgruntled groan. "It doesn't smell like the one Granny used to wear."

"I think I've lost the ability to smell," Patience replied as she came up for air. Her sharp face scrunched up when she felt a tickle inside her nostrils. Squinting, she turned away and sneezed loudly, feeling her eyes water. Wiping her nose with an embroidered handkerchief, she glared at her bashful cousin. "I hate you."

"I'm sorry." Lilah gave her best puppy dog eyes. It did little to sway the annoyed woman before her. She sighed, unstopping another glass bottle and took a whiff. "I had to bring you. You're the only one besides Mattie that remembers what Granny's old perfume smells like."

"So then bring Mattie," Patience muttered, stuffing her hands inside her dark coat.

"I can't." Lilah turned her head, letting out a small sneeze then shook her head. She put back the rancid perfume and sniffed another one. "She's still in France, remember?"

"It's been five days since the wedding." Patience smelled another floral concoction, face screwing up when she detected roses. "She should be home by now."

"It's Mattie," Lilah raised a brow at the blonde, "does she ever do what she's supposed to do?"

Patience smirked, fondly shaking her head. "I guess not."

An unwelcome shriek resonated throughout the store as a baby cried. Lilah winced, hating the high-pitched, shrill sound. Ten bottles and one dazed nose later, the crying ceased.

"Thank God."

Patience set the last bottle of perfume down with a slam. "Y'know how they should advertise birth control? Just play a full minute ad of that and the sales will skyrocket."

"Humanities population would plummet."

"Isn't it already?" Patience's sparkling blue eyes met hers. "The global population dropping is already in motion. The cost of living is high and people can't afford it." She shrugged, indifferent to the world's demise. "Better to happen sooner rather than later."

"Better to happen sooner rather than later," Lilah repeated blankly. She looped arms with Patience, dragging her outside and towards the next store. "You're more pessimistic than usual." She pushed her knitted scarf over her cheeks as a harsh winter wind blew over them. "What gives?"

"What gives? Says the woman dragging me all over creation in the coldest month for perfume."

Lilah jerked Patience inside with a sunny smile. "It's for a good reason."

"That you've neglected to tell me."

She laughed when Patience groaned as they closed in on the perfume section. Her chin rested on Lilah's head, making her feel like a dwarf. "Ok, it's for Granny—"

"I gathered that much."

"—but," she looked at Patience with a pointed stare, "it's also for Grandpa."

Patience paced beside the elegant setup. Her posture was perfect due to her mother's vigorous teachings. She looked down on Lilah and said, "Explain."

"I did some research. I found out that familiar smells can remind people with Alzheimer's of good memories." Lilah toyed with the white strips of paper offered to test the perfume. "And y'know how people with Alzheimer's don't recognize others after they've aged?"

"Mhm. They're used to seeing their family and friends as the younger versions they remember."

"Right. So I thought smelling the perfume again would help him remember Granny a little easier."

Patience's face transformed, softening her indifferent mask into something softer. "That's really sweet."

"I know," Lilah said, back to her usual chipper self after Caius' gotcha day. "It can be part of your Christmas gift too. If we could just find one that smells the same!"

"I think this one should be just from you." Patience tucked a stray lock behind her ear and leaned down. "Do you remember the fragrance family it was in?"

Lilah hummed. "Warm and spicy."

"Scent type?"

"Warm and sweet gourmand."

Patience nodded, leading her towards the more muskier collections. "I remember it had a strong coffee and vanilla scent—"

"The key notes were coffee accord, amber, milk mousse accord, and musk," Lilah said, counting each one off on her fingers.

Patience snorted, taking a quick sniff of a mocha scented perfume. "Don't tell me you remember the fragrance description too."

Lilah stiffened, toying with a light vanilla bottle in silence.

"You do not."

Lilah pursed her lips.

"You do?! Oh my God, I was just joking." Patience chuckled, whipping out her phone and searching up the discontinued product. "Alright, go ahead."

"What do you mean?"

"Spit it out. I wanna see how much you remember word for word."

Lilah's lips twitched but she obliged, knowing she'd win whatever silly game they were playing. "Blended with faint notes of creamy vanilla, this perfume evokes the gentle aromas of coffee and milk accord. Once settled into the skin, the added scents of velvety musk and sueded amber creates a long-lasting, seductive fragrance for the senses."

Patience swore under her breath. "How the hell do you remember that?"

"Me and Mattie used to read the card that came with the bottle all the time."

Sliding her phone in her back pocket, Patience made a face as she looked at Lilah. "Wait, is that why you guys decided to launch your cafes? Because of Granny's perfume?"

Lilah grinned. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Wow." Patience laughed, smelling another coffee scented perfume. She mulled it over as it stimulated parts of her memory from when she was younger. "And all I did was follow tradition and become a lawyer."

"The Carmichael family can never have too many lawyers." She leaned forward to sniff the perfume Patience held out. Her dark eyes lit up. "This has the warm coffee scent down to a T."

Patience counted the bottles before them then looked at the one she held. "I don't think we're gonna find what we're looking for in one bottle. So..."

"So?"

"What if we just mix the perfumes that match Granny's best and see if that works?"

"Like... put them all in one bottle? I don't think that would smell great."

"What? No." Patience stared at Lilah. "I mean we spray the strips with each perfume until we get close to its scent. Then write a note to Granny listing how many spritzes of each perfume is needed to get to the old scent."

"Oh." Lilah smiled sheepishly, holding up the bottle she'd been playing with. "I got the soft vanilla perfume, then."

"That leaves musky amber and milk." Patience frowned. "How the hell do we find milk on its own?"

"I got that. You look for the amber musk."

They parted ways and hunted down the last two bottles. Lilah went through twenty perfumes before locating one that had the best milky scent. A fog settled in her mind when Patience joined her with a new bottle and several strips. It took thirteen attempts before finally settling on the correct formula.

The recipe called for one spritz of Roasted Aroma and two spritzes of Soft Whisper. Followed by half a spritz of Sensual Musk and three spritzes of Milky Bloom.

"You did it!" Lilah exclaimed, pressing the strip to her nose. "Whoa. It's like she's actually here with us."

Patience grinned triumphantly. "Maybe I should've been a perfumer instead."

"There's still time," Lilah said dreamily.

"Maybe in my next life." Patience gathered the perfumes in her arms and they headed towards the cashier. "Is this your last Christmas gift to pick up?"

"I have a few other presents I need to get and then I'm done." Lilah handed her card over. "Some people are impossible to shop for."

And by people she meant Caius.

Just Caius.

"Don't you mean your lover boy?" Patience wiggled her brows, ignoring the chilly air. They ran through the snow and towards her car. Once they were inside she slammed the door shut and blew on her frozen hands. Heat blasted them seconds later as they waited for the car to warm up. "You gonna get his brother a gift too?"

Lilah peered at Patience from the corner of her eye, intrigued. "How do you know about Cameron?"

"Same way everyone else knows."

She refused to roll her eyes, having been doing that a little too often lately. "People talk. Of course. I forgot."

It unsettled her that people were talking about Cameron, though. That left a really, really bad taste in her mouth.

"So," Patience pulled out of the parking spot and drove off, "are you getting them anything?"

Lilah held her tongue. She'd spent days avoiding the country club like the plague, knowing what awaited her there. She gave her friends a few scraps of gossip to satiate their hunger regarding the kiss. Her family's teasing died out once they realized how embarrassed she was to have such a moment captured.

Since that first day of damage control, she'd put Ambrose out of sight and out of mind.

"I don't know."

"Not that serious?"

"Can anyone be that serious after only being together for a few weeks?"

Patience shrugged, coming to a stop at a red light. "You used to be. Rushed in real quick with Jason and Simon, remember? You've always fallen head over heels so quickly."

Lilah drew smiley faces on the frosted windows. "Maybe I'm older and wiser now. Maybe I know better than to just fall for people."

Patience hummed. "If you say so."

"You don't believe me?"

Patience bided her time as she drove to their favorite restaurant for dinner. Once she was certain of how she wanted to steer the conversation, she spoke.

"Can I be honest with you?"

Lilah pressed her hands to the cold window, erasing her childish art. "Of course."

"Being with Jason had that whole forbidden romance thing attached to it. With Simon it was mostly revenge in the beginning. Don't look at me like that," she said when she noticed Lilah's pinched expression. "You know that you only agreed to go on that first date with Simon because you knew it would hurt Jason's pride."

Lilah made a tsk sound.

It's not like Patience was wrong.

Dating Jason had been a total thrill. Her family disapproved, going as far as forbidding them from meeting. Kiki had flown home from Korea the second he found out to threaten Jason. Lonnie, to this day, swears up and down that she wasn't the one to send dead roses to his house with a decapitated head of a doll.

Lilah knew that was partly true.

Mattie and Lonnie had sent the death bouquet.

Sneaking around with Jason and pissing off their families was her teenage rebellion. It was delicious before it all came crashing down and she saw the beast beneath her prince's disguise.

Lilah was also convinced that's where she got her love for the enemies to lovers trope. But that was... irrelevant.

Dating Simon had the opposite effect on her family.

Everyone (but Caius) loved him. It made her feel proud, having her family's approval of the good man she loved so much. When her and Simon broke up, they mourned the loss almost as much as she did.

"What's your point?" she asked as they pulled up to the Italian restaurant.

"You and Ambrose... I don't really see it, I guess." Patience glanced at Lilah, looking a bit dubious before continuing. "I don't see... how you guys mesh. The whole thing just feels odd. I can't put my finger on it but the way he acts around you doesn't scream... affection?"

Lilah agreed, although she couldn't let that show. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you and Adonis."

Patience let out a strained laugh, red lined lips pulling into a wide grin. "Fair enough."

"How did that even start?" Lilah asked. She ducked her head to avoid getting snowflakes on her face. They ran inside before the worst of it came down and told the host of their reservation. "And how long has it been going on?"

Patience exhaled loudly, nodding in thanks towards the waiter that pushed her seat in for her. "That's... complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it." Lilah perused the menu, gaze getting stuck on a certain item. "I'll have the creamy tortellini soup with sausage and spinach. Um, can I add kale to that?" The waiter nodded, jotting down the extra request. "For the drink I'll have a chardonnay. Unoaked, please."

Patience ordered the shrimp alfredo with chardonnay, oaked. When the waiter left she laced her fingers together and met Lilah's inquisitive eyes.

"This doesn't go beyond you and me." Patience laughed when Lilah mimicked zipping up her lips and locking it. With the fake key pressed into her hand, Patience admitted to her... affairs. "It started a little over a year ago."

"God damn."

Patience pressed her lips together, holding in an amused chuckle. "We were up against each other in court. It was a long trial. Exhausting."

"Did you win?" Lilah asked when she paused for a little too long.

"On a technicality." Patience waved her hand when she saw Lilah's confused face. "Legal jargon and bullshit aside, Adonis should've won the case. I knew it. He knew it. So it made the win feel... cheap. I didn't like it."

"Did he say something stupid?" Adonis was known for purposely annoying people to get under their skin. So she wouldn't be surprised if he riled Patience up after a loss that should've never happened. "What am I saying? It's Adonis. Of course he did."

"Actually, no. He didn't." She quieted when their food was served, then continued once the waiter left. "There's a bar near the courthouse that lawyers go to. Usually it's packed but that day it was empty. We didn't go together but we ended up there around the same time. We drank at different tables."

Lilah savored the taste of the chardonnay before swallowing. "What did he say?"

"Nothing."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Then how did you get together?"

Patience wiped the corner of her mouth. "When we left he asked if I was going home. I said yes. He didn't say anything back but I could... feel the air was different. Neither of us was satisfied with how the case came to a close. I asked him if he wanted to come over and... he did."

Lilah's mouth hung open. A giddy smile overcame her when she saw a faint flush creeping up her cousin's cheeks. Not once, in her entire life, had she seen Patience like this.

It was adorable.

"Is he as good as everyone says he is?"

Patience choked on a shrimp. "Lilah!"

"What? It's a valid question."

Patience cleared her throat and took a sip from her glass. Her eyes wavered before she whispered, "He's... better than the rumors say he is."

Lilah's head buzzed. "God damn."

"You have no idea."

Lilah let out a breathy laugh, spooning some of the soup into her mouth. She frowned a bit, not fully loving the taste as much as she did on Caius' gotcha day.

"So, you've been, like, secretly dating since then?"

Patience's face scrunched up. "I wouldn't say we're dating, per se."

"So... fuck buddies?"

"Well... no."

Lilah paused with the spoon midway to her mouth. She wracked her brain. "Situationship?"

"I guess? I don't know, the whole thing is weird." Patience drained the rest of her chardonnay and rejected a refill. "The courtroom is like foreplay for us. Then we see each other at least five times a week—"

"For sex?"

"Not always," Patience replied, twirling her noodles. "Sometimes we watch a show together or talk. Make dinner. Y'know. That kind of stuff."

Lilah nodded, seeing the full picture now. "So you are dating. You're just not calling it that."

"Lilah."

She held her hands up in mock surrender then went back to eating her disappointing soup. "Why didn't you tell Prudence? You tell each other everything."

"I mean... I kinda did tell her." Patience pushed around the food on her plate, feeling hot under her blouse with the way Lilah looked at her. "I just... didn't tell her his name. For obvious reasons."

Lilah hummed, nibbling on a spicy sausage. "Radcliffe. Enemy. Trust me, I get it."

"Things are... awkward as hell now." Patience wiped her mouth on the crisp napkin then leaned backwards a bit. "She feels bad that she kissed him but I"m not mad at her. She didn't even know we were... doing what we were doing."

"Does she like him?"

Patience shook her head. "This guy she's liked for a while now got a girlfriend right before Thanksgiving. She was feeling shity so it didn't really matter who she was kissing that day. She just wanted to feel wanted."

"And instead she kissed her sister's not-boyfriend." Lilah stopped eating with less than half of the soup left. It wasn't as good as she remembered it to be. "Did you talk to Adonis about it?"

Patience rolled her eyes, calling for a waiter. "No," she said while the young man cleaned their table. "He tried but I didn't want to hear it." A dark cloud seeped into Patience's expression as they split the bill. "I just... don't get how he couldn't tell Prudence wasn't me. You guys do it just fine all the time. Him saying he didn't know feels like an excuse."

Lilah grimaced, not really wanting to come to Adonis' defense. Yet as she left her half of the tip, she couldn't help but speak up.

"I think it's a little different for us. The family, I mean." Once the check was paid they slipped their coats back on and braved the winter weather. "I can tell the difference between you and Prudence because we grew up together. It's not like we went out of our way to really interact with the Radcliffe's, y'know? It can be hard for others to know who's who when it comes to identical twins."

Patience started the car, unconvinced as she eyed the late hour. "The logical part of me acknowledges that."

"But?"

"But the stupid, emotional part of me is too damn hurt. My pride took a hit and I don't think I can come back from that."

Lilah grinned, turning her head to the side to watch the winter wonderland pass by. "I don't think it's your pride that took the hit. I think it was your heart."

"Tomato tomato."

"More like tomato potato but ok."

They drove in silence towards Lilah's apartment. When they arrived, she looked at her cousin, really looked at her. She didn't like what she saw in Patience's stiff posture and steely gaze.

"You really like him, don't you?"

Patience took in a deep breath then let out a laugh of disbelief. "He's arrogant and cocky. He knows he's smart and he uses that to his advantage. He pisses people off on purpose to get them to reveal their true character. His body count is probably as high as his IQ. And did I mention how much of a cocky asshole he is?"

"It might've come up once before," Lilah said. "And yet?"

"He's all these things and yet..." Patience shrugged. "He's one of the only people that's ever looked at me and only seen me. All my life I've been a twin and, don't get me wrong, I love that. I love Prudence, I do."

"But?"

"Everyone always lumps us into one being. The twins." Patience shook her head, letting out an exasperated sigh. "For the first time, someone saw me and didn't connect me to my sister. But now he confused her for me and... the whole thing just feels spoiled."

Lilah's heart shattered at that. Years of memories flashed within her mind, leaving a seed of guilt and remorse to take root.

Hi. How are you? Where's your sister?

"I'm sorry," Lilah apologized, having never realized she'd been one of those people until it'd been pointed out to her.

Patience made a confused noise. "For what?"

"The whole twin thing."

"Oh." Patience smiled, although it was a bit strained. "It's fine. Everyone does it so..." She shrugged. "It is what it is."

Lilah gathered her things once it was made clear Patience didn't want to speak anymore on the matter. Yet she wavered after they said their goodbyes with one foot out the door. Looking over her shoulder, she asked, "Do you have plans tonight?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Patience's mouth lifted into a half smile. "I have a date with self-pity followed by a nightcap and ignoring more of Adonis' texts."

"Turn your phone off and come with me."

Patience narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Sleepover. Duh." Lilah stole the keys from the ignition and quickly bolted outside. "It'll be great!" Lilah shouted over the howling wind. "There's this new show I started, Elegant Entanglements. In it Lady Genevieve, a married aristocrat, is stuck in this loveless marriage. Arranged, of course."

"Lilah—"

"So then," Lilah led her towards the elevator without breaking stride, "she starts an affair. With whom, you may ask? Mr. Sinclair. He's dubbed as a "notorious rake" and has a super mysterious past. Tall, dark head of hair, and super handsome with the darkest blue eyes you've ever seen."

"Lilah—"

"On the side, there's this other plot with a different couple." Patience laughed when Lilah didn't give her the time of day. She dragged her into the elevator and pressed the button to her floor. "So Miss Vivienne, this courtesan lady that's known for, like, being a hoe back in the day. Super seductive. She gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse with others. She wants the affections of this one lord..." Lilah hummed, jingling her keys. "Oh! Lord Harrington. I've only seen the first five episodes but so far it's really good. Like Pride and Prejudice but ten times the manipulation and way more sex."

They stepped inside and Lilah set her things down on the counter. Dimming the lights, she kicked off her boots and tossed her winter gear on the couch.

"So... still in your pastels and period drama phase, I see." Patience's eyes dragged over the apartment's interior with amusement. She neatly folded her coat and draped it over her arm.

"Is it a phase if you don't outgrow it?" Lilah said over her shoulder as she slipped into her bedroom. Kicking aside a pile of clothes, she threw open her dresser and sifted through it. Settling on an oversized sweater and fuzzy unicorn bottoms, she came out and tossed them at Patience. "Shower first and then it's skincare time while we watch Elegant Entanglements."

"God. You and Kiki with your skin care routine."

"Hey, looking youthful with perfect skin isn't just good genes." She tapped the top of the mini pink fridge with a pointed stare. "You gotta put in the work too."

"Right. I really can't look forward to my night of...?"

"Oil cleansing, regular cleaning, exfoliating, clay mask, Korean sheet mask—"

"Why two face masks?"

"The clay will clean your face and the sheet mask is a must because your face is dry as hell." Patience touched her face, stunned while Lilah put on the kettle. "After that it's toner, essence, serum, and then emulsion. I have a jade roller and a pink quartz roller for the sheet mask. You can use the jade one!"

Patience didn't have time to respond as Lilah herded her towards the bathroom. Before the door closed she placed her hand on it and looked down at her cousin. "I—thanks. For..." Patience waved her hands, feeling a bit awkward when Lilah looked up at her with her sweet eyes. "I didn't really wanna be alone tonight."

Lilah smiled gently. "It's no problem."

When the shower roared to life Lilah was back in the kitchen, steeping a hot cup of mint tea. As she played with the string connected to the tea bag, she couldn't help but wonder. Should she get Ambrose, and by extension Cameron, a gift for Christmas?

No answer came to her save for uncertainty.

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Vote and/or Comment if you enjoyed this part!

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QOTD: Do you think Patience × Adonis' secret "not dating relationship" can recover? Are you positive that the perfume combo will help Grandpa's memory? Should Lilah get Ambrose a gift even though they didn't talk about it?