Chapter Text
One might have assumed that Aqua and Larxene"s trip in the elevator back to their room would have been fraught with some kind of intense passion. Instead, it was mostly super awkward, neither one saying anything. And it was really, really weird when Larxene wasn"t in a chatty mood. So it felt like a long, long trek to get somewhere private. The door shut with that familiar booming latch and they were finally alone. Breathing a long, deep sigh, the blonde went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, cradling her head in her hands. It wasn"t often you got to see her being so real. Not wanting to shatter things too much, too soon, Aqua just leaned up against the wall, arms crossed. “Alright, one major question, and then I"ll let you say anything you want. Deal?”
Larxene looked back at her with a weak smile. Jesus, she looked rough. How deep down had she been burying all this?? “Deal.”
“How long has this been in the works? Like... was this your plan from minute one?” She almost hated asking. Because it made Larx sound like some kind of massive asshole who was manipulating her for her own gain. Aqua didn"t want it to be true.
“Hah. God no. I wish I was that smart. No, uhh... I mean, you know me. I come up with shit on the fly and then just roll with it. I had this dumbass idea that you could get your ex back by pretending we were dating. I thought I was a freaking genius. But then we were hanging out more than usual, and doing that whole "practicing" thing, and then I was an idiot and got us one bed to share, and... I-I don"t know! I don"t know what happened!”
It was comforting, honestly. To see this side of Larxene, and to know that she had just been paranoid this entire time. Moving away from the wall, she settled in next to her on the bed, sighing deeply. “Okay then. Good.” Needing... something, she took the other woman"s hand in her own and held it firmly for a moment. “Hm. Funny, but I guess it happened to me first, then.”
Just like that, the tone of things changed. Larxene broke out in a wide grin. Aqua still hated that grin just a little bit. But she also was starting to like it. “Come on, say it. Whaaaaaat happened?”
Her eyes rolled, practically of their own volition. Not wanting to subject herself to the embarrassment of putting words to feelings, she opted instead to reach for her cheek, tugging her friend of more than a decade in for a kiss that had been coming... probably several years, at this point. And it was very very good. Incredible, even. You got the impression that Larxene had kind of perfected the art. Tilting so that their lips fit together just-so, using enough tongue without engaging too much. One of her hands gently rested on the nape of Aqua"s neck, playfully tracing a fingertip along the skin. The other brushed slowly up and down along her side, hip to chest and back again.
Just as suddenly, she pulled away, and it was like nothing had happened. She was right back to grinning like an idiot. “You won"t get away that easily. Answer the question, Aq". What happened?”
“Ugghhh, I fell in love with you, you dope! Don"t play dumb!”
And with that, Aqua was tackled back onto the bed, their kissing resumed.
Xion thought it was sort of funny that she had been so nervous before about Kairi not wanting to go out on a double date. And now the four of them were all hanging out in her dorm, watching anime and just kind of enjoying themselves. Still, if Kairi hadn"t gotten slightly cold feet, she and Namine wouldn"t have had their beach date. She wouldn"t have gotten that gorgeous shell. They might not have kissed the way they did. It was a good day.
At some point, Olette piped up with a thoughtful hum. “So, hey, I had an idea. There"s the four of us, and Kairi mentioned a couple girls on the swim team. Xion, I think you mentioned two girls you talked to from the drama club? Plus it sounds like Miss Aqua is gay too. It just... It seems like we should have a club! Cuz there isn"t one, and there totally should be!”
Of course, Kairi was completely on-board, and Xion was pretty eager to know that everything was safe and friendly, and sweet Namine was always interested in getting to know people. It wasn"t long before they were firing off texts and emails to try and get some more interested names.
To think, it wasn"t that long ago that Xion felt terrified she might be alone in this school. Now she had friends and a girlfriend, and just maybe a whole network of support. That was bigger than she ever could have properly expressed.
It had never been like this. Aqua knew that it was tasteless to compare people and their abilities with sex. Not to mention emotional compatibility. But... she was quickly realizing that the time she"d spent with Cinderella was very nice, but... not this. This was passionate and sweet and a little angry and very joyous and... Holy shit. Aqua had willingly been ignoring these feelings for a few weeks. How long had she been doing it unintentionally? Hell, how much earlier could this have happened between them? Or maybe now was the only time...
The two women were laying coiled around one another on the hotel bed, a bit too hot still to really be bundled up in the blankets. On Aqua"s request, they had even kicked up the AC. Strange, to be like this, so insanely intimate, with someone who you had thought of as only a friend for so long. But looking at Larxene, she was so damned beautiful. And she looked so happy. And her body? Good god, Aqua hadn"t had purely sexual thoughts in so long. Maybe it had something to do with being an actress or...
She was snapped out of her thoughts when her companion gently cleared her throat. Once again, there was a moment of true honesty there. She looked vulnerable again, and it just made Aqua hold her all the tighter.
“Hey, so uhh... I know you prefer my puckishness and all, but can I get real? Just for a sec?”
“Yeah, go for it.”
“You know that like... I literally care about you more than anybody else in this entire world, right? Like... for real. Like uhh... I... I love you, ya know?” Woah. Her face. She was so red, and she looked so nervous, and wow. Even more shocking, the feeling was absolutely mutual.
So, Aqua leaned in and pecked her gently on the lips, playfully, like she almost never did. “Hey. I love you too, idiot.” Before they could be any more mushy, her phone suddenly lit up on the bedside table. She couldn"t help but glance at the screen, kind of surprised to see that it was an e-mail from Kairi. She reached for it, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Gawd, are you seriously answering a work email? Right now?”
No point in keeping secrets. Aqua brought the phone over so that both of them could look at it, pulling open the message. “Nah, this is my private e-mail. I give it to students having personal issues, so they feel more comfortable talking.” She was shocked, a little impressed, at what she read there. “Holy. Shit. The kids want to put together a club for queer kids. That"s... wow. My god. We"re... We"re actually doing well as educators. Did we accidentally make a difference?”
Without even missing a beat, Larxene gently took the phone from her hand and looked over the contact list with a little laugh. “Damn. Xion, Jasmine, Esmeralda... They just connected all the dots, huh? That"s... fucking awesome.”
“Guess we"ve got some paperwork to file when we get back.”
In spite of all her energy and excitement, Olette was maybe a little bit nervous. It was the first official meeting of Reizon"s club that still had yet to have any kind of name. She was holding Kairi"s hand with an iron grip. And it looked as though Xion and Namine were in much the same boat at the moment.
Everyone they"d invited had shown up, along with a few other students that she hadn"t really expected. But the bigger their numbers, the stronger it made them. Even more wonderful, Kairi"s coach Aqua was there. But what no one had expected was that she would bring Larxene along with her. Nor that the two women would be leaning on a desk and holding hands. There was obviously something going on there that none of them had known about.
Kairi, bless her heart, had agreed to be a temporary president until proper elections could be held. Hesitantly, she released Olette"s hand and got up to her feet. “Um, thank you all so much for being here. I can"t even... begin to tell you what it means! So, I guess first things first, we need to figure out what to call ourselves!”
The debate began, enthusiastic and opinionated.
Despite the fact that it was already well into mid-October, it felt like the semester was truly beginning.