Cause I can and cause so many of you have said this exact same thing. With that vague pronouncement, enjoy!

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The fire in the grate crackled, giving off warm waves of heat and helping illuminate the cabin. Outside rain tapped against the windows and danced on the roof, adding soothing background noise to the night. With rustic decorations and furniture, the cabin could almost seem homey.

Homey, if it weren't for the row of computers on one table displaying surveillance footage and processing data, the other table covered with classified files, and the gun case that sat open in one corner.

Carter sat across from Mason at a folding table. Cards and two coffee mugs dotted the top. The sound of rain and fire filled the silence of the cabin. Carter eyed her cards, seemly absorbed in her decision. But always in her mind, she waited to hear the ding of the computer, waiting for it to say a piece of data had been discovered. Something that would mean her stay in this cabin would be over.

"You know," Mason said, discarding two cards and taking two new ones. "I had a crush on you for a day during freshman year."

Carter raised her head. "You're a bit stupid to have done that."

Mason grinned. "You can see why it was only for a day."

Shaking her head, Carter returned to her cards.

"Why?" she asked a second later. "Was it because I was so attractive?"

Mason snorted. "No, there were easily two dozen girls more attractive than you."

At this, Carter cocked her eyebrows. Mason merely shrugged as if that settled the matter.

"No," he said. "I had a lapse in judgment because you were blunt and didn't care who I was or who my father was. Where everyone placated me, you didn't."

"Because I didn't care."

"I know. If it had been a tactic I wouldn't have fallen for it. But it was genuine how much you disliked me. And for a short, very short, period I thought we might have an enemies to lovers thing going."

"Ew," Carter said, staring at him. "What is that?"

"Calm down, it's where people go from hating each other to loving each other. How have you never heard of this? It's a common fiction trope."

"I rarely read fiction." Carter lowered her cards. "Besides, how is that healthy to go from hating someone to all of sudden loving them? What's the basis of the relationship? Hate? That's really promising. Also whose to say they can't easily flip back to hate after love if it was so easy to flip to love from hate?"

Mason held up his hands. "Chill, I didn't make this trope up. I'm only saying that's what I thought could happen to us."

Carter continued to look at him, skeptical then relented.

"Which it didn't," she said.

"I know, you made that clear really quickly."

"Oh?"

For a moment, Mason looked like he would elaborate but then waved the matter away.

"You did and I realized how stupid it would be to like you, so I went back to disliking you."

"Making my point that enemies to lovers means it could be lovers to enemies just as quickly."

"Drop it, it's a trope that's never going away and no one wants to hear your take on it. Especially since all you seem to read is nonfiction."

Carter dropped the subject and handed over one card to Mason and accepting one in exchange. The silence returned as they went back and forth, the money on the table ebbing and flowing. Finally, Carter broke the silence.

"I remember that day," she admitted.

Mason paused. "You can't be serious?"

She nodded. "I am."

"But it was for one day. I don't even think it was the whole day."

"It wasn't." She didn't look at him as she talked, half lost in a day long ago. "During science, you argued with me, but you also looked at me. Usually, you had this wrinkle in your forehead that showed how frustrated with me you were. But instead, you had this softened expression. I ignored it."

After a brief hesitation, she met his gaze, which was locked on hers in surprise and curiosity.

"At lunch, you stared at me from across the cafeteria. I couldn't stand it anymore and so I-"

"Walked over to my table, stared directly at me, and said, 'stop staring at me or I'll break five of your fingers'. You then nodded hello to Smith and walked away."

Carter fought a smile. "Yeah."

"It was your tone of voice. It wasn't angry or sassy, it was matter of fact. I dropped the idea of you and me really fast after that."

Pensive, Carter lifted her mug and sipped at the lukewarm coffee.

"I needed you," she said.

Mason blinked, shocked.

"I was so angry at the world and my mother in that time that fighting and arguing with you helped me. It made it so I didn't get into physical fights. The thought of you no longer fighting with me scared me."

She drained the mug's contents.

"Also I wasn't dumb enough to think that your attention to me would last. So I worked to keep what we had going."

Mason tapped the table with his cards then spoke.

"Arguing with you was some of the best times. I didn't have to be perfect for anyone. I didn't have to be the All America Boy that everyone saw. I could be as mean as I wanted and you would take it and dish it back out."

They held each others' gaze, feeling the years between them, the history they shared, the weight of what they meant to the other.

"You're my best friend, Mason."

"You're mine too, Carter."

"I guess you were right. We did go from two people who hated each other to liking each other."

Mason made a face. "Yeah, not usually what that trope means."

Carter laughed and threw down her cards. "By the way, I win."

Cursing, Mason slapped his cards on the table as Carter gathered the money towards her. She shuffled the cards and dealt them and they began a new round.

"You know what's more surprising than us being friends," Mason said.

"You losing so much?"

"Ha, ha. No, it's the fact that both of us found people stupid enough to marry us."

"Still shocks me. I mean with your damage it a miracle anyone would take you with all your baggage."

"Says the girl who picked fights to avoid dealing with her mommy issues."

"Coming from the boy with daddy issues."

Mason stabbed a finger at her. "I don't have daddy issues." He took up his cards. "Well, not anymore."

"Issues healed by spouses. Thank goodness for their stupidity at loving us."

Carter grinned. But the smile slowly faded. Mason eyed Carter over his cards. Seeing her expression, he dropped his hands.

"You can't go there," he said.

Nearly two months cooped up together, that's all it seemed to take for Mason to understand her so well. It was strange and comforting.

"I need to see them," she said.

"You know how dangerous that is for not only you but him and Kennedy."

"I don't care. I need to see them."

Carter released her cards and buried her face in her hands. Snatches of time slipped by when she couldn't feel the never-ending ache of wanting to be with Donovan or Kennedy. When those moments passed the pain hit and on top of that was the guilt that she'd had a reprieve from the torment of it all.

How could she be sitting around a table, playing cards when they thought she was dead? When they needed her to come home.

Again Mason seemed to understand where her mind was taking her.

"We're waiting on the data to come in," he said. "I know you want to be kicking in doors and busting heads right now. I know you hate that we are just sitting here but there's no other way. You know this."

She did know this. She knew this like she knew Brock, Clint, and James were following up leads, doing all they could on their end. Still, the quiet and homeyness of the cabin tore at Carter. How could she be here and not be with her family? Logically, she knew. But emotionally she didn't. And the war between the two was chipping away at her.

"Please," she said. "Please, Mason."

He stared at her, swore, and dragged his hand through his hair.

"Fine," he said. "I'll see if there is some way. But...I can't promise."

She didn't need a promise, only the tiny flame of hope.

"Thank you."

He shrugged then shook his head, sympathetic.

"What are best friends for."

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Hi Pumpkin Patch!

(Don't be offended, I call my dog that all the time...I mean it in love! Honest!)

Okay ahead and leave all your awes, oohs, and smiley faces! Or you can leave thoughts as well, whatever works for you! (Just tell me, Carter and Mason are your happy place too, aren't they?) 🗯💭💬

Now I want to hear your opinions on the whole Enemies to Lover trope! Go! Give me your Ted talk!

Here's mine. I'm fine with Enemies to Lovers if that translates to Enemies to Understanding to Friendship to Couple. Because for me still the strongest relationship a character can have is based on friendship. One made up of respect, love, and understanding.

What I don't live about the Enemies to Lovers trope is the lovers part. Usually this means the characters go from hating each other, they randomly kiss and then it's like all they want to do it make out all the time.

For me that doesn't work. The basis of their relationship is hate and physical attraction. That's not a recipe for a long lasting relationship. Because what happens when the attraction fizzles out? What's left is hate. Does that make sense?

So yeah, that's why I'm all for the trope of Enemies to Understanding to Friendship to Couple.

Vote, comment, follow!