THAT GIRL IS A REAL CROWD PLEASER

Amie. 25+. MST. Always down for talking and plotting so hmu.

[canthelps]

the kisses are setting her soul on fire. wherever oli was touching her, a trail of heat was left in her wake. she notices how oli gasps and groans into her mouth, and it just spurs her on, sending a shiver straight down her spine and between her thighs and marina was wondering why it had taken her so long to finally cross this line, when it was clearly something that they both wanted.

a shy smile plays on her lips when oli tells her she's a good kisser, a blush rising on her cheek as she leans forward and buries her face in the crook of oli's neck to hide her blush for a moment. she pulls back though, her hands moving to cup oli's face as she does, taking a moment to just look at her, to drink in the sight of this beautiful woman who liked kissing her. "i really wish we hadn't ordered food now... i kind of don't want to stop doing this" she says softly, before leaning in to kiss her again and again and again.

[thequeensxgambit]

if marina had ever made a move in the early days of their friendship and conveniently-timed dates (or inconveniently-timed depending on how you looked at it), oli wouldn't have shot her down. she'd been open and honest about her interest and how she could be flexible with marina's busy schedule, but there was a little relief years later. nothing grand or haunting or deep. just a small gratitude that they'd never crossed that line. a line that might have made it harder for oli to push her crush aside to form a different type of connection. but now... she knew what she would have missed. could still miss, and they'd barely stepped a toe over the line at all.

oli's expression softens as marina cups her warm cheeks, and there's no shyness or hesitation as she looks up at her openly. her deep brown eyes are steady and focused on nothing else. a laugh slips from her lips, but she doesn't have the chance to speak as warm lips meet hers again and again and again. oli settles into the ease of it, running her hands up and down marina's side, quietly exploring but respectful with her touch. she's not sure how far marina wants to take this. whether she just wants to kiss her or strip her bare or...

oli pulls back and hums quietly, lifting her hand to run her thumb along marina's bottom lip. "we don't have to stop." her voice is a little raspy at the edges. "i mean like stop completely. just consider it... a small break." she chews her lip before pushing her small reservations aside and reaching for the boldest parts of herself. "a small break to eat where we talk about what a really good night could look like for you right now..."

[canthelps]

she smiles as oli pulls away to move their wine glasses. the last thing she needed right now was for the moment to be ruined by some smashed glass and a wine stain on her floor. the entire time they had been friends, marina had worried that crossing this line would be a disservice to oli, because of how disasterous their attempt at dating had been. or, how disasterous her attempt at dating had been. oli had always been there, been flexible, working around marina's shifts. she had been so accomodating that marina had convinced herself she didn't deserve her, that oli shouldn't have to deal with all the peculiarities that came with dating her.

and now they were here kissing on her sofa, and those thoughts were still bubbling under the surface. marina pushed them back down again, not wanting to ruin the moment, just wanting to enjoy actually getting to kiss oli like she's wanted to do for years at this point. "yeah" she nods eagerly. "its more than okay" she practically whispers against oli's lips, before moving her hand to the back of her neck and pulling her in for another, deeper kiss, shifting a little so she's practically sat on oli's lap.

[thequeensxgambit]

oli had grown up with a deep care for other people. her parents had always insisted how important it was for their children to show up for others. not out of obligation or guilt, but because it was the right thing to do. the good thing. oli's crush on marina had grown strong pretty fast when they first attempted dating. and sure, marina had saved her life (oli was confident she would never forget that for as long as she lived), but oli also just thought the other woman was great. she was kind and funny and intelligent, and she had a whole bunch of quirks that oli wanted to know more about.

oli's heart rate starts to thunder as they kiss again. it's more than okay. the sound of marina's whisper is beautiful and soft enough to make her gasp into her mouth. but it's a low groan that falls from her lips as marina adjusts and shifts into her lap. her touch isn't shy, just careful, as she slides her hands up her thighs and guides them to her lower back. part of her wonders why the change of heart, but she also knows why it didn't work out before... and it wasn't because of how they felt about one another.

when she pulls back, oli is a little breathless. there's a brilliantly bright smile on her face that only grows as she looks up at marina. slowly, she lifts a hand to cup her cheek and presses a firm kiss to the other. as she pulls back, she looks into her eyes. the smile turns into a grin. "it doesn't seem fair that you're so attractive and this good of a kisser."

[sunliights]

"and why would i go to sleep that early? there's still so much evening! i don't have dinner until 7pm some nights. how am i meant to squeeze in an evening routine after that?" it's not lost on tansy that she could, in theory, start everything much earlier but it just doesn't feel like the vibe for her. her eyebrows raise at braxton's words, "you're gonna be in my bedroom then, huh?" she really never has been able to miss an opportunity to tease someone. "i always wanted a horse as a kid. you know, the way most six year olds do at some point." though like most six year olds, she hadn't stuck at anything. it means she's not too spooked as she moves further into the stable to greet some of the horses. "i didn't see this in my future, though."

[thequeensxgambit]

to braxton the answer is simple. she went to bed at a decent time so she could be up early the next morning. she wasn't some early bird always after the worm, but she did love the serenity of waking up earlier. combined with her desire to work hard, obviously. "well that's your thing to figure out." the ranch hand grunts with a small roll of her eyes, but they widen drastically as tansy asks her a very pointed question. "well, no, but well..." she stammers quickly and feels heat settle in her cheeks. she definitely hadn't thought about that. no. not at all.

her deep eyes follow tansy as she moves further into the stable. she still doesn't really fully understand why the other is here. the city girl in her expensive clothes who seems clueless... but also willing to at least do some things. "six year old you would be super happy." she says with a small, lop-sided smile as she leans against one of the pens. she wants to ask why, but she just watches. "i bet your future was cleaner than this. probably, didn't have me in it either. the white mare right there is our pregnant one."

[canthelps]

marina honestly didn't think she would ever have the courage to do this, to kiss oli. she wasn't usually shy, but they had been just friends for a while now, and they had been so good at not crossing that line. but having oli here on her sofa, drinking wine, laughing about silly things, talking about how they had met, how could marina not kiss her? when oli was all the things she wanted. someone nice, dependable, someone she knows likes her for all her quirks. not to mention very easy on the eyes.

she barely opens her eyes when oli pulls back, caressing her face like she was the most precious thing in the world. telling her that she would always be thankful it was her who came in that ambulance, her who kept her alive long enough to get her to the hospital. "im glad it was me too" she replies softly before she's pulled back in for another kiss, her hands coming up to tangle in oli's hair as she did, shifting impossibly closer to her on the sofa.

[thequeensxgambit]

it's not some giddy elation or bewilderment that fills oli's chest as marina kisses her. it's not shock or surprise that seizes her. it's something much steadier. something unexpected yet anticipated all at once. something so closely intertwined in the relationship they'd acknowledged they couldn't have while building a connection together anew as just friends. and even if oli's feelings had always lingered, through dates with strangers and limited availability and messages on random evenings about things that needed fixing, she had never done anything for any other reason than caring about marina.

some people had called her dramatic when she'd told them her paramedic had saved her, but they hadn't been there. they hadn't been in oli's position, delirious and scared and only able to focus on two things through the haze of pain and blood and fear. marina's hand and her name. the same name that falls in an affectionate whisper from oli's tongue against her lips as fingers thread into her hair.

she kisses marina tenderly as she shifts even closer, but pulls away a few moments later. "here." oli breathes as she gently picks up her own wine glass and takes marina's from her hand. she sets the glasses carefully on the coffee table then slips back into marina's space. her touch is delicate yet deliberate as she lays her hand along her jaw and strokes her cheek dotingly.

her eyes linger on marina's as she leans in, nudging her nose against hers. her lips hover and brush lightly. she wants to kiss her more, of course she does, but how marina feels is so deeply important to her. oli leans a little closer and kisses her sweetly but firmly. "is this okay?"

[beingalones]

finley wished it felt more like relief, but she couldn't pretend that she didn't still feel unease, that her gut wasn't swirling with discomfort not just at the way she'd spiralled out of control today but at opening up to callie for the first time. her callie, the person she'd loved in the deepest, most painfully intense way from probably far too early on into the relationship. the girl who'd given her a second chance that it probably always would feel like she didn't deserve.

and still, despite that, she'd done it, she'd given her a glimpse into the muddled, painful mess of her brain, she'd opened up and taken another step towards being someone worthy of her. no matter how much her mind continued to be cruel to her, no one could take that away from her.

her green eyes grew glassy, tears threatening to spill over as she looked at callie, the desperation to reach out and beg for affection making her throat tighten. naturally, she granted her request, because her kindness was an overwhelming, overflowing fucking ocean that finn wanted to drown in. as the other came close, perching herself in her lap in an instant, she hardly settled, but she felt something in her still. perhaps the rapid beat of her heart, slowing to a safe pace, the panic slowly beginning to empty out of her. she was still tired, so tired to the bone that her whole body was heavy.

slowly, slowly, she felt herself relax as callie wrapped her arms firmly around her, their bodies slotting together so naturally once more. her cheek pressed into her shoulder and cautiously, she let her own arms wrap back around her, blinking as she did her best to hold back the tears still threatening to spill. the other held onto her so firmly and she did the same right back, grasping for her like a lifeline. the soft, teasing words almost prompted a smile as she shut her eyes for a moment, taking a slow breath.

when finley opened her eyes again and looked at callie, the dam gave way pretty immediately. she ducked her head and sucked in a breath and then another, until she'd begun to hyperventilate and then the tears came. "i'm sorry." she choked out, a habit that she feared her therapist would never be able to help her break despite all her effort. "i just — i—" the blonde crumbled in the other girl's embrace, attempting to hide her face against her instead as her arms wrapped much tighter around her. she let herself cry, even though it was embarrassing, even though it was ugly. they were hot, heavy tears that spilled down her cheeks, that made a wet spot against callie's shirt as she fought to get her emotions under control.

it just kept coming, no matter how hard she tried to fight it off, all the emotion she'd been holding onto with an iron grip coming loose the moment she had the other woman in her arms. so she gave in, she rode the wave, struggling with taking slow deep breaths in between bouts of breathing way too fast. it was cathartic, she knew that, but it scared her to feel so much. it scared her to be seen like this. when she finally felt herself slowing down, her heavy breaths shaky from how hard she'd cried, she was reaching up to wipe away at her own cheeks. her face felt hot and her eyes sore from the salty tears irritating them, but maybe she did feel... better.

better enough to speak softly, as the heel of her hand rubbed against her eye. "and now you probably understand why i never wanted to do that in front of you." she said, her voice weak but a hint of humour to the way she said it, a self-depreciating joke to try and bridge the gap between how she'd felt and the calmness she was slowly entering into. "i knew you'd get too turned on by me being all snotty and red." and there was her apparent zinger, a wistful, stupid statement as she finished wiping at her face and offered a hopeful smile. she had no clue what she looked like, honestly, but she could only imagine.

finley sniffled and licked her lips, surprised by how dry they'd felt. she didn't know where her chapstick was, she'd ruined three of them in the dryer in the last month so there was probably her best guess. "...do you really think i've gotten that buff?" she asked and this time her amusement wasn't a slow attempt to let the sadness dry up but rather paired with a genuine smug little grin. of course she'd noticed the difference to a degree, but as hard as she liked to go in the gym, she was hardly ever going to be the type to pose in the mirror or take progress pictures.

there was something easy about sitting there with callie perched in her lap, but she was aware that this was big for them outside of the context of her own sadness. it occurred to her that she was probably being a shitty host. "are you hungry, by the way?"

[thequeensxgambit]

callie wasn't entirely sure if she simply imagined the way that finley's body softened beneath her. in the growing moment of vulnerability, she didn't pay much mind to how long it had been since they'd shared space this close, but she subconsciously noted every point of contact between them as finley slowly, slowly relaxed against her. she barely even processed the way she was holding her own breath in her lungs. trying to be still. be steady. be just what finley needed in the middle of a storm. in a world where finley thought she was an ocean that she wanted to drown in, callie would never settle for being any less than a lighthouse or a lifeboat.

there was a long moment where callie didn't let her mind race. where she just processed how finn's strong arms felt around her. a slow breath. the retreating of the tide before the wave crashed on the shore. the very moment their eyes met, finn's final restraint snapped. callie's heart tightened in her chest, and she felt an instant flash of heat burn in her eyes as she pulled finley into her body. sweet finley. her sweet finn.

i'm sorry.

a choked apology between the ragged breaths. seven letters, and every single one hit callie right in the lump thickening in her throat. her lips parted and closed again as finn cried against her. she could feel every touch point of her grip. the pressure of it. she had never seen finley like this before. all of it was new, but how she felt about finley was engrained in her very being. she had never stopped caring, and she never would. not about her sweet finley. rain or shine. "i've got you." she whispered and cradled the back of her head gently as she fell apart.

callie didn't rush her. she didn't try and tell her the quieten down. never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined telling finley to pull it together. if finley wanted to cry, no needed to cry, then callie would hold her until every tear had fallen. callie wasn't going anywhere. she'd felt that awareness start to settle at the wedding, and it had only grown since. the texts. the dates. the walks in the park and the talks. but this... this was more than all of that put together. this was vulnerability and honesty.

her eyes closed as she listened to the harsh breaths and body-wrenching sobs. the sounds of despair and everything finley was sorry for. the weight of all of the feelings that would never leave her. callie didn't know how long passed until finley's breathing started to slow, and callie's fingers slowed their soft motion at the back of her neck.

there was no rushing to fill the space between them. no need to rush and discuss what had just happened. callie just watched her affectionately as finley wiped at her cheeks and eyes. it was clear how hard she had been crying, and callie spotted the damp patch on her shirt where finley's thick tears had fallen.

and now you probably understand why i never wanted to do that in front of you. callie's mouth opened to insist that it was absolutely fine, but she stopped as she took in the layers of finley's tone. when she followed it up with a mention of her snotty nose, callie laughed. "oh that's the reason, is it? the level of self control i'm using right now." she whispered as she brushed the backs of her fingers against finley's red cheeks.

callie's dark eyes stayed on finley's face as she worked through the aftermath of her emotional offload. her gaze flickered to her lips before they shot right back up to finn's eyes at her question. "so here's the thing..." she said slowly as she dropped her hand to finley's chest just beneath her collar bone, rubbing slowly at the area over the fabric of her shirt. and she would have loved to have been coy. would have loved to say something like i can't tell you that, but she had no resolve. nothing less subtle to say than walking into a door. "yes, finn. and it's..." she tapped her fingers against finley's chest, tugging lightly at the fabric. "you look strong and buff and great."

her cheeks warmed up as the words fell from her lips, and she was more than glad for the jump to a different train of thought. because callie had seen those photos that finley had sent from the gym. truthfully, she'd done things looking at them that she felt a little shameless thinking about in that moment. unplanned, obviously, but they just... okay, food. "i am actually." she remarked, pushing some of finn's hair away from her face. her eyes dropped to her lips again, and without fully leaving finley's lap she leant over to fumble through her bag next to the couch.

her eyes lit up as she pulled out her chapstick and recorrected herself in finley's lap. "and before we go down the rabbit hole and back and forth of ordering food..." because callie was making the assumption finley was low on ingredients they could cook. she popped the cap off the chapstick and softly took finn's chin between her thumb and forefinger. callie kept her eyes on finley's as she slowly smoothed the balm across her lips, lifting it to run across her own when she was done. "my only request is a big portion of sweet potato fries. so if there's a food that you need right now..."

she dropped her hand and stroked finley's cheek. "well no... that's not my only request. if i was making a request, hypothetically, you would treat us to way too much food for two people, and we would watch whatever you wanted while we ate, and i would be right here beside you or in your lap just like this. and maybe while we waited for the food to get here, you would let me help out with a few things, and if you won't just let me... then we'd do it together." callie shifted forward and with only a small moment of hesitation pressed her lips lightly to finley's forehead.

[beingalones]

this was significant. it had to be, right? all of joss's other attempts at trying to talk to riley had been such awkward, clipped interactions that made her reconsider childhood thoughts of whether she was even human considering how incapable she felt.

when luce spoke up again, her head whipped around, turning to shoot a confused frown in her direction. was she trying to save face or something? it was a pretty clear lie, considering how she'd just been begging to be tutored. there wasn't time to focus on it, because she was wasting precious moments to make a good impression with riley so there was some opportunity for this whole her wandering up of her own accord to occur again.

she'd been about to open her mouth, though to say what she hadn't exactly figured out. hell, maybe she could have offered to tutor her. or maybe not, since she'd indicated that she'd done poorly on a paper she'd completely aced. still, there had to be something... except then suddenly luce was talking again and there was genuine alarm in her widening eyes as she once again cut her gaze to luce. something between a scoff and laughter fell from her and she cleared her throat. "um..."

would it look more or less weird if she told riley that luce was crazy and they totally didn't need to get any time in together? she wondered in that split second. joss had always been the quiet type, but the whole scene seemed to be unfolding in front of her out of her control and her mouth couldn't find the right words. luce was implying they were a thing. and the weirdest part of it all? the way that riley seemed so... focused on her, giving her a kind of smile she'd never seen before.

"i just might. maybe i'll see you there, huh, joss? enjoy your afternoon, guys." with that, riley was shooting luce one of those cool girl nods and turning on her heel to head off. joss watched in horrified awe as she went, a beat passing as she saw that the other was far enough away that she wouldn't hear her as she turned to luce and exclaimed. "what the heck was that?! why did you just... you acted like we were dating, or at least that's what she's gonna think! i don't want her to think that!"

[thequeensxgambit]

luce was pleased when joss seemed to compose her shit at least a little when riley focused on her, because damn, wasn't joss smart enough to know she was working on some master plan here? obviously and logically not, because luce had only put the plan into action a few seconds ago of her own bold accord. but it had barely even taken a moment for it to show signs of working.

"yeah. bye." luce grunted as she lifted her hand in a half-assed wave. almost glad to see the back of her. it didn't take long for it to become apparent how different her relief was to joss's horrified awe, but luce just waited. she sat completely calmly with her hands still threaded behind her head, just waiting to see what the other would have to say. she certainly hadn't exactly been forming words when riley had been at the table, and luce was far from a social idiot. which was also ridiculous, because joss had been talking to her just fine, and she was ten times hotter than riley.

"firstly, joss. this is a library, so be respectful of people working and don't raise your voice at me." she had no real right to be taunting the other or smiling so smugly, but it didn't stop her as she ran her tongue across her lower lip. "secondly..." her eyes flickered to the side before she reached across the table and lay her hand palm up on the table in front of her. "what i think you meant to say was 'thank you'. did riley even know your name before i said it? be honest."

luce wiggled her fingers. "and would she ever have looked back at you, because she just did. don't look back. focus on me." she sighed and put on her best brilliant smile again. "and i mean this kindly, but you have got to get your shit together. she's a nerd... but she also..." luce paused and shook her head. she knew a lot about riley. she knew how she treated women. she knew her preference for wanting what she didn't have. a preference luce despised, but this could benefit her.

"do you get what i'm getting at here? i just made her interested in you, because i made it seem like we were dating. i'm a pretty fucking big deal, and if you want her to keeping thinking that we're dating... i think we can work something out, right?"

[canthelps]

she takes another sip of her wine. in all honesty, she had a glass while she was waiting for oli to come over too, so maybe that was why she was feeling a little brave on her sofa tonight. marina shifts a little bit, inching closer to the other woman as she did, remembering the first time they had met. there had been so much blood. marina didn't really get affected by those things, but now when she thought back to it, to oli struggling to breathe, to holding her skull together with her hands, it makes her shiver.

"it would be a really wild guess if you went straight to marina" she chuckles, noticing how oli had turned so they were even closer now, practically in touching distance as her gaze drops. the moment you told me your name, thats all i focused on. marina thinks her heart skips a beat. obviously she knew that it had meant a lot to oli, here they were still friends, still in contact a couple of years later- but to hear it from her like that, it made marina's heart ache.

they hadn't worked the first time around. her schedule had been so gruelling and her hours weird, there were only so many lunch or breakfast dates you could do before you had to call it quits. but it wasn't lunch now, and it certainly wasn't breakfast. and she didn't even have work in the morning.... "you didn't have to thank me. its my job" she says softly, her gaze dropping down to oli's lips, and then back up to her eyes, and before she can even think, before she can talk herself out of it, marina's closing the distance between them, pressing their lips together in a sweet, almost gentle kiss.

[thequeensxgambit]

oli was aware of her own sincerity and bleeding heart, but she had worked hard over the years to recorrect the narrative that it was a bad thing. people will take advantage of you. you shouldn't want to be so available. wow, don't you find that kind of embarassing? why was it such a bad thing to wear your heart on your sleeve if you knew you deserved good too? why was it such a shitty and shameful thing to tell the people you cared about how important they were? maybe it was because oli had experienced a time when she'd looked back on the last things she'd ever said to her family and friends. a timeline where she'd been a few metres higher when she fell. a world where she'd hit a different part of her head and lost her ability to tell people anything at all.

her soft eyes slip upwards as marina talks, and she feels the corner of her lip tug into a fond smile. marina's voice is so soft and sweet, and oli knows what she means, but it means something entirely different to the electrician. something deeper than she'll ever be able to convey through words in any language. before she can even talk at all, marina shifts closer, and oli can feel her head tilting in anticipation. the woman's lips are as soft as she has ever imagined, and she leans forward to reciprocate the sweet contact.

she tucks the stem of her wine glass carefully between her thighs and lifts her hand to brush her knuckles softly across marina's cheek. the contact of her lips is almost dizzying, but oli feels like she's been ready for it since... well... since years ago. there's barely an inch between their lips as she pulls back. "i know it's your job. i knew you were just doing your job, but if it hadn't been you then..." she brushes her thumb across marina's cheekbone. "and i will always be thankful it was you. not anyone else. you." she whispers before leaning in to kiss marina again.

[canthelps]

"shoot port? god i remember in uni, one of my housemates was on the hockey team and they made all of them drink a whole bottle of port on the bus ride home before the night out. she spent the entire evening throwing up in the bathroom and i think the toilet was stained red" she chuckles, taking another sip of her wine, grinning at the possibility of coming to one of the mitchell's almost infamous parties. "really? i'd love to come, it sounds fun"

marina shrugs in agreement, thinking about whether or not she was bothered about being with someone. she was very independent, she didn't need someone else, but whenever oli came around she was reminded about how nice it could be to share her space with someone, to have someone willing to help out with simple things like getting her a glass of wine, and not so simple things like fixing her stupid flickering lights. "I agree. People don't really do that now. I was so surprised when you came back to the hospital to ask me out" she says almost quietly, blushing a little as she takes another long swig of her wine. "i was surprised you could remember my name with all the blood loss"

[thequeensxgambit]

oli grimaces exaggeratedly at marina's story about one of her housemates from university. she knows it's not a particularly deep story, and she laughs along easily with her friend, but without really noticing oli tucks away the anecdote. a little extra something about marina's background that they've never really spent much time on. information that oli lets marina bring to her, whether consciously or not. "that's so gross." she grins over the rim of her glass and nods enthusiastically. "but yeah, of course, really."

the electrician had been caught up in many conversations with her friends and family about being with someone. she'd even questioned whether she was trying to fulfil something she didn't have. a gap in her life she felt compelled to fill, but truthfully, she just knew it would be a lovely 'extra'. she had her business. she had close friends and strong family bonds. she just wanted someone to listen to at the end of the day. someone to takes walks with on spring mornings or curl up on the couch beside. someone she could bring cups of tea to and buy flowers just because.

"yeah... i surprised myself a bit too." she smiles sheepishly and adjusts on the couch to prop her elbow against the back. without thinking, her fingers trace over the long, raised scar beneath her hair. "i could make a joke and say i actually did forget your name and took a lucky guess, but..." her dark eyes dropped to her almost empty wine glass. "the moment you told me your name, that's all i focused on. so you know... i would never have felt right if i didn't say thank you at the very least."

[canthelps]

"your mums parties sound wild. our family get togethers are so boring, everyone just sits on their phone in silence" she chuckles, she always liked hearing about oli's family, they seemed like they should have some kind of sitcom about them. marina hums as oli tells her about work. "woah, so you're going to be doing the leccy for all the new builds? are you gonna hire in day workers for that?" she asks, resting her chin on her fist after she takes another sip of her wine, trying to ignore the way her stomach flipped a little when the other woman said there was no girlfriend at the moment. "i can never last longer than a week on the apps. they're so..." she looks around for the word "soul destroying?" she settles on, chuckling a little bit as she does. she tries to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the question about mr or mrs right making a 999 call. "no, still mostly old people pretending to fall over so someone will come and talk to them" she admits with a shrug. "honestly, ive given up on dating. maybe i'll try again in my thirties"

[thequeensxgambit]

oli nods in agreement, knowing first-hand just how wild her mum's parties have been in the past. "i actually think there's penalties for having your phone out at mum's parties. like you have to shot port or something. maybe you could be my plus one some time. if you think you can handle my sister giving live theatre performances and my cousins showing off pictures from their latest trips to some fucking mountain range." her body relaxes more into the couch as she pushes her hair away from her face and nods. "you got it. i'll have to do some estimates. balance out how many people i want to bring in versus could i just work a bunch of hours, do it mostly myself and take a bigger cut."

she shrugs but lets out a bark of laughter at the mention of the soul-destroying apps. yeah, that sounded pretty accurate. and cringe. and awkward. and just... uncomfortable at times. "not the sad old people. i can't." she mumbles over the rim of her glass as she takes a long swig. "i guess if you're not that bothered about being with someone there's no real rush, right?" but oli quite likes the idea of having a girlfriend. someone she can care for. someone she can build a home with. spoil. someone pretty and smart just like marina... but that had fizzled out. marina just... wasn't available. "part of the reason i didn't like the apps was because it felt so fake and superficial. i-i like real stuff, you know. meeting someone in the 'real world'. getting to know them."

[luvcrs]

they let out a quiet huff at those words, the corner of their mouth turned upwards despite themselves. leti finally met leonie's gaze again. "probably," leti admitted, voice low, a hint of dry humor slipping through. "would've saved us a lot of... this." they motioned awkwardly between them, before letting their arm fall back to their side. leti thought about all the things they could've said and all the things they wanted to say in that moment. "but i didn't know, so." a small pause lingered between them, then something softer began to settle in leti's expression. they had to tamper down the urge to reach across and take leonie's hand in their own. "and yeah, i do, but it's not like i was getting any sleep anyway." they exhaled, shifting sideways awkwardly. "just—maybe keeep it down a little in the future. that's all i'm asking."

[thequeensxgambit]

leti didn't know, so... it was fine. everything was fine. no one was shouting, and they could just get past this. leonie wasn't quite sure how she was going to get past the fact leti lived right next door, but they didn't have to talk about that right now, did they? not when she'd already disturbed the other. she toyed with her own fingers and nibbled her lower lip before smiling shyly. "i will. i promise. i-" that's all i'm asking. leti wasn't even prying. they weren't even digging deeper, but leonie could feel the words bundling up on her tongue. "there's no one in here. it was..." oh no, why was she talking? why was she sharing that? because she didn't want leti to assume she'd been fucking someone? "just me." she trailed off and tucked her messy hair behind her ear. gosh, why had she said that? she was feeling flushed again. like she'd basically dropped her robe with her words and made herself vulnerable. "um..." she blurted, glancing back inside her apartment. "maybe you could come by tomorow evening? i'll make food. an apology for... stopping you getting sleep."

[beingalones]

for all joss' intention to get out of there as quickly as she could and forget the whole interaction, it didn't seem that luce was giving up quite that easily. she blinked, stunned momentarily by the tone the other took as she tried to insist. her brows furrowed as she considered her reasoning. she didn't want people to know she was failing a class? did it really matter that much? she supposed she knew that athletes had to maintain their grades, but still.

joss had been about to respond, but her mouth snapped shut at 'two doesn't matter'. mostly because, honestly, luce seemed to be genuinely uncomfortable about it and she was hardly the type to push. "okay." was all she managed to say for the moment.

of course, then luce went in harder and her green eyes widened in surprise as she offered... well, one thing she'd be interested in (money) and two things she couldn't imagine she'd want all that badly. "i don't drive..." despite how stunned she was about this whole interaction, joss was beginning to realise she needed to be firm about it. "look, i'm really sorry. i don't really get why you want me to tutor you so badly, but, um..." it was at that moment, of course, that the one person who could distract her in the world happened to be walking apparently in her direction. immediately, joss's tongue seemed to turn to jelly in her mouth. alarm flashed in her eyes as she looked back at luce before slapping on a smile. "hey, riley."

riley, in all her cool gay glory shot joss an easy smile. "you guys freaking out after that paper too? i passed, but it wasn't pretty." joss giggled, maybe a touch too loud and then cleared her throat. "oh, same, yeah." a blatant lie, considering the a she'd gotten on it, but forming words was hard right now.

[thequeensxgambit]

luce wasn't even sure she had the right reasoning to say why she wanted joss to tutor her, so when the other trailed off, it felt a bit like a clutch save. like maybe there would be less talking and more agreeing on her classmate's part. like maybe joss was going to realize how awesome of an opportunity this actually was and change her mind. but that wasn't the case. oh no, that wasn't the case at all.

her eyebrows rose curiously as joss's gaze went elsewhere, and she was only a second away from turning around to see what the fuck was more interesting than her when alarm flashed in joss's green eyes. alarm followed by a disarmingly pretty smile and... hey, riley. the actual fuck?

luce's eyes lifted slowly from the table and settled on the familiar face. why was she here? since when had riley just strolled over and got into luce's shit?

she didn't want to talk about the fucking paper either. especially not in a class she was at a risk of failing and... wait. the mildly annoyed expression on her face was wiped away as she looked at joss. was she... giggling? at riley? firstly, what the fuck? joss hadn't giggled at her and luce had actually said at least three funny things and secondly... she leant back in her chair and smirked. the same damn arrogant smirk she'd wandered over with in the first place.

luce wasn't the sharpest skate on the rink, but she had people smarts. women smarts. "nah, i crushed." she announced as she lifted her arms high above her head and looked up at riley. she hadn't. she definitely hadn't, and she knew joss probably had crushed. riley probably had too. she had a real habit of saying stupid shit in luce's 'humble' opinion. a habit of making shit up too.

the hockey player's eyes slid to joss, and for a second, she just paused. bingo.

"honestly, i don't even want to talk about school. all i can think about is how the paper is done, i don't have hockey and we get some us time in, right, joss?" luce flashed a brilliant smile before she laughed loudly and bumped her fist against riley's arm. "sorry, didn't mean to flex on you there. just excited. i mean, why wouldn't i be, right?" she placed both of her hands behind her head and beamed. "if you're struggling though, riles, you can always join the study group. i heard it's very helpful for anyone confused about the content."

[canthelps]

its nice. having someone in her flat at the end of a long day, bringing her wine and teasing her about her culinary choices. or maybe its because its oli doing these things for her. usually, she doesn't like people in her space, likes her own little sanctuary, but oli fits right in. she takes a long swig of her wine before turning to the other woman, leaning against the back of the sofa as she did. "oh really? thats pretty cool. or does it just make him really pretentious at christmas?" she asks with a chuckle, taking another sip of her wine. "so.... how have you been since i last saw you? got a girlfriend yet?"

[thequeensxgambit]

"oh he's incredibly pretentious. yet, somehow, not the most pretentious person at mum's dumb parties." she replies with a grin, managing to hold back on the addition of just rich parent and family things, i guess. oli lowers her wine glass from her lips and wipes the corner of her mouth with her thumb as she weighs up the answers to marina's questions. "busy, kind of. i landed a partnership with some property guys for a bunch of new builds in a couple months, so i don't have to be so worried about finding individual jobs." talking about work is easy. she's good at it, but talking about relationships... "and no girlfriend, no. i, uh..." there's almost a soft disappointment to her tone, but she smiles quickly and scratches the side of her neck. "i deleted all the apps. big misses on the two matches i even sent a message to." she shifts to face marina more as she sips her wine. "what about you? ... has mr. or mrs. right made a 999 call recently?"

[canthelps]

she settles on the sofa a little more comfortably, finding a blanket and pulling it over her legs as she waits for oli to come back, grinning when she sees the almost full wine glasses. she didn't have many vices, but a glass of wine after a long day was one of them. "oh really? I didn't know you knew a sommelier" she says teasingly as she takes the glass from the other woman, waiting to drink it so they can clink their glasses together. "so should i dunk the prawn crackers in this or is it a keep some in your mouth when you take a sip type pairing?" she says playfully, reaching for the remote to turn the tv on.

[thequeensxgambit]

oli doesn't miss the ways that marina has made herself more comfortable on the couch or the grin on her face when she comes back. again, she brushes over the thought that this is potentially a rare lull in the busy schedule for marina. how nice it is to see her looking cozy and relaxed. the electrician chuckles as she taps the rim of her glass against marina's. she drains a good swig of the full glass before carefully sinking back down onto the sofa beside her. "my uncle was a sommelier for a while actually." she says with a smile as she rests a hand behind her head and kicks her feet up. "i would say it's diner's preference, but if you start dunkin', i'm walking home." she laughs and takes in a deep breath, resting her wine glass against her chest as she easily finds her own comfort beside marina.

[canthelps]

marina can feel the way that oli is looking at her. she can feel the soft smile, the gentle energy. she's sure its similar to the way she looks at oli. they hadn't worked out, almost completely due to her own ability to be flexible, and sometimes she worried if it was cruel to keep oli around the way she did, texting to ask for help around her flat, knowing that there was want bubbling close to the surface for both of them. she's smiling as oli offers to get the wine for them, making her feel like a guest in her own home... well maybe not a guest. just... taken care of. "do you know where the wine glasses?" she asks, tongue poking out to moisten her lips as she watches as she stands, a shiver running through her at the touch to her shoulder. surely it wouldn't be so bad if they... "no, just a heavy pour please"

[thequeensxgambit]

"i might be a sparky not a kitchen fitter, but i can find my way around a cupboard." oli teases as she squeezes down on marina's shoulder. "you got it." she smiles and intentionally doesn't entertain the questions she's wanted so badly to ask in the past. the comments they easily brush over about mental well-being and marina's work ethic. how oli is pretty sure that she's never heard of marina taking a day off. instead, she just wanders into the kitchen and opens cupboards until she finds two wine glasses. she doesn't even think about how easy it is to move around marina's space and do something so simple for her. as she opens the wine and starts to fill the glasses with a heavy pour, she grins. "you know, a sommelier once told me this is the perfect pairing wine for prawn crackers." it's a silly joke, but oli is still laughing at it as she returns to the sofa and holds out a filled glass to marina.

[canthelps]

"ugh fine, no singing" marina replies with a half chuckle, taking the phone back from marina and finishing off their order, leaning back against the sofa, smiling over at oli as she did. "I sleep plenty. Its all I do when I come home" she chuckles, watching oli as she did. god, she was beautiful. she wished she got to see more of her. they could have been so good together, but life had got in the way, and now she was stuck having to pretend to have electrical problems to have an excuse to see her. "we can have a dose of ice cream later, but we could have some wine now? does that count?"

[thequeensxgambit]

oli's smile is so gentle and soft and sincere as she just watches marina. part of her knows she should try and hide the open affection in her expression, but she simply doesn't feel the need to. she's not ashamed to care. her quiet care for marina runs a lot deeper than she could likely ever express. gratitude for a past that she doesn't feel a debt for, but she has always sworn to remember. even if their 'romance' hadn't worked out. "fine, i'll wait for ice cream." she grumbles with a dramatic flail of her hands before she nods. "wine sounds good." her hand moves quickly to marina's shoulder as oli starts to stand. "i'll get it. need anything else while i'm up?"

[beingalones]

it wasn't like joss was particularly antisocial. she had friends, her roommates in particular had stayed with her since freshman year. she just valued her alone time, was all. she was soft spoken and cautious as a reflex, but it was more of an outer layer than the core of who she was. sitting underneath the glare of luce's spotlight, she wasn't sure how to present herself she found herself responding instinctively by putting a wall up. her brows lifted slightly in acknowledgement, anticipation building as she continued to wonder why she'd been approached at all.

joss rolled her lips together and began to fidget, not impatient but just experiencing some discomfort as she let her pen wobble between her index and middle finger for a moment. in an instant, luce took her from confused and uneasy to stunned, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "um, what?"

there was a sense of performance in the way that luce spoke to her, the overconfident, cool girl display with an ego that was very much expected, considering she was the school's hot shot hockey player. the queer community on campus was anything but small and joss knew luce for two things; being good at hockey (she supposed) and rumours about how many girls she'd slept with.

she had to expect that maybe with those things taking up so much of her time maybe classwork fell to the wayside, but that didn't mean that joss needed to care about that, did it? slowly, a frown overcame her features, her light green eyes narrowing at luce's assumption that she would say yes. "i'm sorry, i really don't have time to tutor anyone." it wasn't untrue, but it was as polite as she could be. "maybe you could try joining the study group they run for it? i heard it's very helpful for anyone confused about the content." despite the fact that she'd intended to stay longer, joss closed her notebook, feeling strange about the exchange but figuring it was over now.

[thequeensxgambit]

okay, the fact joss looked confused was not super cool. why did she looked confused? luce was sure she'd been pretty damn clear with her super cool offer to tutor her. the hockey player knew a bunch of people that would want to help her with her studies, but she wasn't sure they knew much about the curriculum... or anything academic sometimes. luce loved women of all kinds. beautiful. brainy. bold. bashful. anyone willing to bat their eyelashes when she flexed her triceps, but she'd definitely asked past fling's their favourite position before she asked their grade point average. cowgirl or from behind set the mood a bit better than around a 3.4.

luce pulled back her hand from the notebook as joss frowned, but she just continued to watch her with a steady grin on her face. okay, sure, it wasn't going exactly as she had planned, but luce had her ways. powers of persuasion or whatever the fuck one of her teammates had called them once. "hey. please." she said softly as the notebook fell shut, her eyes still trying to level on joss'. "i can't join the study group. one, people can't know that i'm not doing so hot and two..." for the first time, the grin faltered, and she shook her head quickly, resetting the expression. "two doesn't matter."

she ran her hand back across her hair and tilted her head to the side. okay, fuck it. she was in now... she'd just have to play it up. just like trying to get a final goal to avoid overtime. high risk plays with the hope of high reward. "i need your help." absolutely believable given this was their first real interaction ever. "i'll pay you. i'll wash your car with extra suds and you can watch if you want. i'll get you glass seats at our games all season."

[beingalones]

it made sense that joss of all people had a fondness for the university library, considering the insane amount of time she spent there. she took advantage of facilities and resources that other students probably didn't even know existed, like the days she brought in her insect pinning supplies to the crafting room and worked there instead of her bedroom. elsewhere, she wasn't quite as chatty, but then again the standard for being chatty was different in a library, so she supposed in general... she was quiet.

suffice it to say it was unusual for someone to approach her while she was hunched over her notebook, overviewing the notes she'd written during class, let alone a hockey prodigy who'd never looked in her direction before. she blinked at the sudden intrusion as luce sat down comfortably in the seat across from her. "hi." she replied curtly. it wasn't in her nature to not be polite.

on instinct, joss tried to subtly peer at her peripheral, wondering it this was some sort of immature prank. she got the uneasy feeling of being in high school again, but she did her best to straighten her shoulders despite her confusion. "um... fine, i guess. i'm just studying. y'know... in the library." she replied, not cold, but not necessarily warm and inviting either. "can i help you with something?"

[thequeensxgambit]

when the semester had started, luce had all the best intentions of taking notes. she'd even purchased a four-pack of highlighters for the new school year (who knew highlighters came in other colours than yellow?!). then she'd forgotten her notebook one time because it had fallen out of her bag in some english majors dorm, and it had sort of become a lost cause from there with the highlighter packaging untouched. which was totally fine. totally chill. totally solvable, because the english major had made picking up the notebook worth her while and because joy from her class took notes.

nope, it wasn't joy either. fuck.

"just getting your study on in the library. super cool." she remarked with an assured nod before she turned more in her seat and braced her elbows against the edge of the table. the corner of her lip twitched upward as she set her gaze on joss. she knew what joss meant. she knew that they'd never had a conversation in their lives, but she also knew that there wasn't a chance on earth she wasn't going to pass so she could keep playing hockey. and joss was right there with her perfectly shareable notes. joss. that was it.

"oh, you want to help me with something? that's so kind, joss." she grinned and reached across the table, tapping her fingers against the open page of the notebook. "i'll be super real with you, because that's just me, you know? our professor is marking my papers wrong, probably gets confused because i use such high intellect words. so i need a bit of help, and that's ok. because i just get this vibe you're like big-time smart, so you can tutor me. super cool, right?"