Chapter Text
year 4
”Bea?” Beatrice looked up from her chair too weak to do anything. She was attached to tubes and wires. She watched Lilith walk in trying to quiet her steps. “Hey..” she feels Lilith put a hand on her shoulder. “How’s it today?” Her friend sits across from her.
”mm, same. Everything taste metallic.” Beatrice says with her eyes closed and head tilted back. “I’m just tired Lil” she says as she takes a deep breath.
“I know, two more rounds?”
”4. and each one sucks more than the last” Beatrice lets out a small laugh. “You know, sometimes I fall asleep and I’m ok if I don’t wake up.” A tear falls from her eye. “And then I do wake up, and “ she takes a steadying breath, “ I see Ava.” She smiles and she closes her eyes again one more time. “Shes the one keeping me here.. sorry.” She teases her friend.
”I can’t die. I’ll die trying.” Beatrice wipes the corner of her eyes, “she deserves the life I imagine for us. You know before all this, we talked about kids. Imagine, little tiny Ava?” She smiles again
”no, I can barely tolerate this one.” Lilith jokes trying to hide the sadness creeping up on her.
”oh you love her. You’re just too stubborn to admit it”
”I’ve told her I didn’t like her for 6 years now, can’t ruin the dynamics.” She laughs.
Beatrice let’s our a cough, one deep enough to hurt Lilith too. “Lils” Beatrice says as she reaches out her hand. “Watch her for me? If ever?” Lilith squeezes her best friends hand.
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. “Richard’s what the fuck?” Lilith gets up and hugs their friend.
“I came to see Captain” Claudette playfully salutes Beatrice. Lilith walks out of the room to give the two some time.
“knock it off” Beatrice says.
“you look like shit.” Claudette approached Beatrice and kneels infront of her. She puts her head down hiding the tear that just fell. She looks down hiding her face with the lid of her cap. “You know Bea, I thought it would be an airplane falling on you or whiskey to do this do you..” she tried to joke. Beatrice slaps the lid of her cap. “You hungry?” Claudette finally meets Beatrice’s eyes and sees how tired her friend is. She places her hand over Beatrice’s shoulder and feels the bones.
“I finally got skinny huh?”
“you never had issues with weight standards, that was me. Water cutting every other month” Claudette stands up and paces the room. “I love you, you know”
”that’s too gay” Beatrice tries to lighten up the room.
”never had a crush on you! Never have never will, Ava though? Respectfully, you won that one” Beatrice simply smiles in agreement.
There was a silence in the room. It was thick and heavy. “Promise me something?” Beatrice still had her head laid back. She licks her dry lips and takes in a breath. “You.” She pauses, “take care of Ava.” Unsure of how to respond, Claudette stood still. “Lilith will protect her, you take care of her.”
”I don’t know what you mean? You’re not going anywhere.” Claudette let her tears fall freely.
——————
“baby,” Ava crawls into bed spooning Beatrice from behind. “Hi” she says she feels Beatrice breathe from under her. “It’s nice having you home.” Ava stares blankly at their night stand. She looks at the picture frame, that had the photo of her and Beatrice infront of their new home. “I know you didn’t want to, but I pushed back the wedding date, I want to do everything when you’re ready. When you’re better.” Better; there it was, was she really getting better? Ava paused for a moment, not realizing a tear was already falling. She sniffles a little trying to control her emotions. “You’re gonna get better.” Ava hugs her fiancé a little tighter.
—————
”Ava!” Beatrice yells from the room. “Ava!” She yells again. Ava stumbles in from the laundry room tripping over the laundry basket.
“Ah fuck.” She winces as she stubbed her toe. “Bae are you ok?! What’s going on?” She grips to the door frame look at Bea staring out the window.
“hi, let’s go out? Take me somewhere?” Bea turns around wearing a beanie covering her thinning hair. She walks up to Ava grabbing her jacket from the bed. “I feel good, I don’t want to waste it in bed..” she pulls her jacket tighter around herself. Ava looks at Beatrice’s sunken cheeks and pale lips.
“Sure baby.”
After a while Ava parked the car. Beatrice noticed where they were. “Our first date..?”
”mm, more like where I saw the moonlight for the first time.” She touches Beatrice’s fading freckles. The same freckles who made constellations that night. Beatrice leans into the touch. She closed her eyes as she felt the warmth of Avas hands. “I’m sorry.” She says.
“You have nothing to be sorry for baby.” Ava tries to reassure her.
“I promised to take care of you and here I am..” she opens one eye and gives her a smirk. “I didn’t want you to relive what happened to mom.” There it was.
Ava starts to sob. “I’m so sorry.” Beatrice repeats.
Ava didn’t know what to say. She just mustered up whatever she had left to silent her tears.
“I loved you as best as I could darling..” Beatrice says with a weaker breath. “I love you till my last bre—“
—————
Ava held her kids hands walking through the grass. The twins held two flower bouquets in their hands. They walked up a hill being careful of where they were stepping. They stopped when they found who they were looking for.
There was a cool breeze, she closed her eyes and felt it, Ava let go of the kids hands as they placed the flowers on the headstone.
Ava looked down and smiled.
Beatrice S. Bradley
May 18, 1988 - January 12, 2023
Daughter, Airman, Fiancé
“There you are.” Ava feels a hand in her hand. She turns around and finds her wife.
She goes on her toes wrapping her arms tightly around her. “Hi baby.” Ava keeps her arms around her wife and just looks at her and smiles brightly. “I missed you so much” she gives her a quick kiss. She feels her wife smile on her lips.
”EWWW” She hears the kids say. They separate and the twins ran up to their Mama.
“you know, this is where me and mom met..”
The twins look at Ava, “mhm” she stands over Beatrice’s headstone and kneels down to dust it off. “Aunty Bea here, didn’t exactly introduce us properly”
”RICHARDS!” Ava turns and sees Lilith and Camilla walking up the to them.
Claudette jokingly stands at attention earning a slap from Lilith. “Idiot.” Lilith hugs Claud patting her shoulder.
“Minions.” Lilith greets the kids. She simply nods at Ava and walks over to Beatrice. “Told you, we still have her.” Lilith sets down another flower.
—————
Ava stayed until they shoveled the last bit of dirt over Beatrice. She sat next to the mound of dirt for a while not really knowing how to get up. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she looks up.
“ I hate her for this but, I’m Claudette” she extends a hand infront of her. “I wish I met you in a different circumstance.” Ava grabbed the hand infront of her and Claud helped her up.
“she did say I’d meet you before we got married..” Ava dusts off her dress, “she sure as hell made sure of that.”
Claud laughs and just stood there with Ava. A breeze brushed them that smelled of lavender, Ava smiled. “She uhm, she really loved you. She was happy to have had the chance to do it, even if it was short.” Claudette turns to face Ava, “I’ll be a call away if you need anything.” She steps back and gives a small salute to Beatrice.
“Take care Ava”
————-
2 years later
”HAVEEEEEE YOU MET AVA?” Camilla pulls a tall brunette to their table, Ava just shakes her head and looks up, “Claudette?”
”Ava?” Claud smiles. “Hi,” she tucks her hands into her pocket. “How have you been..”
”good, I’ve been good.”
————
6 months later,
“so, you’re telling me, your mom was a chef and you don’t know how to cook?” Claudette stood in Avas kitchen cooking them dinner.
“mmm, I cooked for Bea. I’m sure she just tolerated it because she loved me”
in a whisper, “oh she did.” Claud says under her breath.
“What was that?”
“nothing, just nothing “ Claudette set a plate down in front of Ava.
——-
3 months later
”I like you.” Ava says.
”I hope so? We’ve been dating for a few months now baby” Claud pulls Ava into her arms as they laid in bed.
Ava was quiet. “ tell me baby” claud nudges her a little. “What’s on your mind..”
”is it ok if I’m not ready to say I love you because I’m scared to lose you.”
”hmm, I’d be scared to if I got to love someone like her.” Ava feels her chest lighten just a bit. “But, is it ok to say I’m already in love with you?” Ava smiles and kisses her on the cheek. “Yeah, I feel it too. I’m just—“
”that’s all I need”
———-
1 year later
”baby, it’s twins..” Claud presses her ear onto Avas stomach.
“you sound confident”
”Darling, you look like you’re incubating a line backer.” Ava smacks her wife.
“Asshole!”
“I love you..”Claudette rubs Avas belly and giving it a kiss.
“are you sure you’re ok with the names?”
”Luca, light. Luna moon.” Claudette says with pride.
“I know it’s because of Bea.” Claud looks at her wife. “Because of her, the moon never made me feel alone. Because of her I saw light on nights I almost lost my self,” she gives Ava a small smile, “because of her, you were able to feel how it was to be loved by her stars. Because of her, you were loved so well that when you were ready, I was able to show you just the same.”
Avas hormones were kicking it. “Youre definitely not the same..” Ava wipes the tears falling from her face. “You love different, you make me feel different.”
”hmm,” Claud kisses the back of Avas hand. “Is it cuz I’m charming?”
”it’s because you’re literally everything I avoided.” Claudette shocked put her hand to her chest. “you’re the girl they all said to watch our for.. but here I am. Annoyingly inlove with you”
Ava pulls her wife by the collar and kisses her. It was a reassurance that there was never a competition. They had both loved Beatrice differently but someway, somehow, Beatrice loved both of them enough to be the best for each other.
—————
Claudette sat on the grass sitting next to Beatrice. “Dude.” She touches the headstone, “I know you saw how this all played out.” She crosses her arm and rests her chin on it.
”I swear to god I didn’t plan this.” She picks up her head as a pine cone falls on her head. She looks up and sees Ava laughing. “Wow, even from 6 feet under huh Bradley?” She rubs her head and watches the twin play.
“we named them after you, technically. I love knowing that you’re still the moonlight guiding them when I’m not able to.” Claudette gets up and looks down one more time. “Bradley. Thank you for loving her for me. I promise, I’ll take care of her just as you did. Ill see you later captain.”
THE END