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Miss Fortune awoke to the shock that she didn’t have a clue whose bed she was in.
Well, she had some sort of a clue… that it wasn’t her bed. A truly helpful clue. The comforter looked more like a thick quilt than a regular comforter. It was a teal green with dark green polka dots. It took a quick glance to her left to see the girl she had spent the night with.
Cerebella. That damned circus girl… What the hell did they do? Why was she in her bed? Why was she wearing a t-shirt that was far too big and baggy for her… that she didn’t own? Nadia had a load of questions filling her mind, and she wasn’t sure she’d like the answers.
Her mouth tasted like too much of the cheap liquor she stole from the market as a teenager. And like… strawberries? That perplexed Nadia. She didn’t recall eating strawberries recently, but then again, she didn’t recall much recently. She could tell from her dizziness and minor headache, she was hungover.
Sitting up and looking forward, she saw a clock that read 8:34 A.M. She was rarely up this early, seeing as she saw little point to unless Minette or someone else important needed her. Plus, if her thoughts were correct… she was likely up late last night.
“Nadia…?” Miss Fortune sat up straighter, startled when she heard her name. She turned back, making eye contact with the dark eyed girl. Cerebella seemed noticeably less shocked by the circumstances the two were in. “You look confused… Did you forget?” Nadia simply nodded. “Dumbass…” Cerebella playfully smirked as she sat up, crossing her legs. She was wearing a similar attire to Fortune, but her shirt fit a bit better and she had shorts on, unlike Nadia, who just had the baggy t-shirt and underwear. “Well… Do you want me to explain?”
“What do you think, Belle?”
“Okay, okay! Geez… I was bored because Feng is out on a gig and she’s not home… So I wandered around New Meridian,” she picked at her nails as she spoke, “I just went into different stores and shit. You were in one them, it was a kind of bar here you could get regular drinks or alcohol and stuff. I think you were drunk… You called me over, bought me a drink. We just… talked. I don’t know how to describe it. You’re a lot nicer than you seem, Nadia.”
“Hey! What does that mean?”
“I… mean it in the best way possible?” Cerebella gave a sly smile before continuing with her story. “We both just kind of rambled and connected. You kissed me… It was nice.” A shy smile crossed her face. “You said I tasted like strawberries and I said you were drunk… I would’ve taken you home, but you refused to say where you lived, so I just brought you to my apartment. You fell asleep really quickly.” Cerebella looked up at Nadia, making eye contact. “That was pretty much it.”
Needless to say, Nadia was quite relieved. Sure, Cerebella seemed nice and all, but going as far as she thought she did in one night? That seemed outlandish and scary. ...Besides, she’d rather remember her first time.
“I sound like a bother when I’m drunk, I hope I wasn’t too bad.” That elicited a small giggle from Cerebella. Her laugh was so… soft. She was cuter than Nadia had noticed. They had limited interaction before last night; Miss Fortune would occasionally steal something from a store and sometimes, Cerebella was in the store. She knew so little about the Medicis, but she’d never been caught stealing from a store Cerebella was in. She felt like thanking her for that… Or would she think that’s weird? Gah, she felt like she was overthinking everything.
“Nadia? You okay?” Cerebella’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Every word that left her lips dripped with honey.
“Hmm? Of course, just purr-rusing through my thoughts.”
“Did you… did you just make a cat pun out of perusing?”
“No…” Nadia made an attempt at hiding her joy, but she smirked slyly after the sarcastic denial. Cerebella sighed before laying back down on her bed. Nadia glanced at her, and she looked as though she had something on her mind. “You alright, Belle?”
“Hmm? Of course!” A cheeky smile crossed her face quickly as if she felt the need to hide her true emotions.
“I’m not as stupid as I look, Cerebella.” Nadia suddenly gained a serious sense to her with a plain expression crossing her face.
“Geez, okay…” Cerebella looked up to the ceiling, “well, I guess what I was thinking was that I… I don’t want this to be a one night… thing. I know you were drunk, but… I had a lot of fun talking to you last night.” She paused, looking to Miss Fortune. “That must sound stupid to you, huh?” She looked away again. “I’m probably nothing more than a circus freak to you, to everyone.” Her voice cracked a bit as she finished speaking. Nadia could try to say she knew what she felt, but she didn’t. That’d be a lie, both of them knew that. She had no clue what it felt to be someone who worked in the circus, someone who was probably harassed constantly.
But she knew what it felt like to be an outsider. Someone who felt alienated from the rest of the world. Sometimes, Nadia wondered if everyone knew that feeling.
“Cerebella, I don’t know exactly what you’re feeling. I don’t live like you do. You work in the circus, and I live as a thief. But I know how it feels to be an outsider, to feel worthless. I know it’s a shitty feeling, but you don’t deserve to feel it. You’re not just some circus freak… at least, that’s not what you are to me. You’re a good person, and even though I don’t remember what happened… I like spending time with you, I know that.” She looked back at Cerebella, smiling. “I like the way you are.”
“...Nadia.” Cerebella simply looked at Miss Fortune, making eye contact. Her eyes were watering, and Nadia could’ve sworn she saw a tear drop, but she would never be sure. “That’s so sweet… Thank you.” She tightly hugged Miss Fortune, her grip was incredibly tight.
“No purr-oblem!” Nadia let a cheeky smile cross her face before Cerebella pulled back from their hug. An awkward moment of soft smiles between the two passed before Cerebella pulled Fortune back in, this time, for a kiss. Her lips were softer than Nadia thought they’d be. She was gentle, yet still fiercely passionate. When the two pull backed, Nadia only had one thing to say.
“You do taste like strawberries.”