𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐀 - 𝓈ℴ𝓁𝒾𝓈

“ don’t worry about it , “ she said with a reassuring smile . the wait , the anxiety , the buildup just made the moment that much better . “ that’s exciting . have you been getting a lot of work here ? “ magdalena didn’t work much . she’d completed internships , but her parents gave her an allowance . as long as she stayed self sufficient and out of her parents’ way , she didn’t need to want for much . 

her brow furrowed at the comment . it was strange — the closeness between them and corvina’s want to spend time with her . she couldn’t quite understand it . how they could go from being together to being nothing in the blink of an eye . not talking for a year , and suddenly talking every day . it was like she was looking at a calculus equation when she was supposed to be in math i . but she kept her mouth shut , didn’t raise her hand to ask her teacher to clarify or tell her she didn’t understand . she only said , “ it’s going to take us all night to eat all of this . or we’ll just have to hang out every day , taking it one thing at a time . “ she glanced at corvina out of the corner of her eye .

she loved gossip . loved when someone looped her in . loved to spread it because she got too excited to be included . except , not when it came to people she cared about . magdalena wanted to keep her informed rather than hide anything from her even if it made her upset . “ she’s just putting you down to feel better about herself . clearly she has some self esteem issues , and thinks insulting you will fix her own problems . “ it was what she told herself over and over again when gossip spread about herself or someone decided they didn’t like her . she’d never accept any blame for that . “ i would just ignore her . she’s spreading rumors to get a reaction out of you , so you can’t give her that satisfaction . “ rare , wise , mature words from magdalena . advice she’d never follow herself , reacting based on her gut feelings rather than any logic . but there was a tug at her heart and she genuinely wanted to help corvina , not cause her more pain that she seemingly already had . 

Laughing at the comment, Vina paused to look at the mountain of sweets. It wasn’t until looking at all of them spread out before her that she realized just how much it really was. Not enough to call wasteful, as they had more than enough roommates around to devour it if they really couldn’t, but far more than the two of them should be eating in a single sitting. “  I guess we better get started then, no?  ” was her response, as she turned to grab a dish for them to start. Digging through drawers, Corvina came up with an ice cream scoop and two spoons so she handed one over to Lena. In her bowl, she placed one of the lava cakes and popped it into the oven to heat up. 

“  Exactly! That’s what I keep reminding myself of. There has to be some personal dilemma she’s struggling with and I just so happened to be near enough to catch her strays.  ” Though her words weren’t exactly a lie, Corvina felt wrong in omitting the real reason behind her targeted rumor. She told herself that it was only while she gathered the strength to say the words out loud. To acknowledge the very thing she’s kept secret for most of her life. A family she refused to accept and be a part of even when she had no one else. Swallowing her guilt, Vina glanced at the timer of the microwave to avoid her gaze. She would slow into the conversation when they were more sluggish from the cloying treats.

Corvina was almost glad for the quickness in which Lena switched topics until the image fully presented itself. The two of them drenched in flour from their playful attempt which naturally led to the bathroom where they proceeded to clean each other’s mess. Lather each other’s flesh and hair. It wasn’t until the following morning that they discovered the remaining mess awaiting them. She laughed, thinking about the two of them staring at each other in horror, unsure of how to proceed from there. “  Sometimes I can still smell it when I open a fridge.  ” she said with a smile, “  I don’t think I’ve made another cake since. Have you? Maybe we should give it another whirl. A take two, if you will. We had a load of fun back then. ”

it had been nice for the man to think of her, to get her a gift (that she wouldn't have really picked out herself) for their dinner they had lined up. ella had really been looking forward to it and had been full of jitters all day - she could barely sleep like she was a child waiting for santa to come. wearing the dress, she sat looking up and around from her phone every few moments to make sure that she didn't miss his arrival but also didn't want to accidentally zone out entirely. this was a big deal for her and as long as she didn't say anything confrontational to him, it would be the pick me up she desperately needed.

Vina almost laughed at the dress Ella wore, but rolled her eyes instead as she reached for a piece of complementary served bread. Anything for an allowance, I guess. “  I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here. At some point you’d have to start considering the fact that your father will have me around. That your ‘daddy daughter’ dates will no longer just be for you. But do feel free to complain to him about it. I’ve tried everything I could to avoid seeing him.  ” Not that anything she did ever worked. Corvina couldn’t bring herself to understand what had changed over the years. Why did he care for her now, after tossing her aside for so many years. “  Pass the oil, please?  ”

corvina's  kindness  would  always  be  some  sort  of  mystery  to  bash.  most  people's  softness  generally  boiled  down  to  people  pleasing  or  bullshit.  he'd  assume  the  same  for  vina  as,  well,  statistically  speaking  it  was  just  more  probability.  he  still  did  his  best  to  keep  her  at  arms  length,  but  there  was  something  about  the  other  to  make  any  combativeness  to seem  similar  to  kicking  a  defenseless  animal.  he  would  never  quite  understand  why  she'd  even  bother,  but  he  figured  sometimes  it  wasn't  his  choice  to  make.  she  seemed  fine  being  kept  at  a  distance,  didn't  pry,  and  shockingly  didn't  give  him  a  headache.  who  was  he  to  complain?

“  I finished most of my project, I just have to edit it and I thought maybe I could get your opinion on it? It’s a short animation on drugs and the progression of addiction.  ” Two things that she knew nothing about in real life, but had read enough on it the last few weeks to where she felt confident her piece had grasped the concept. “  It isn’t due for another week, so if you can’t today that’s totally fine. Have you got a lot to study for?  ” she asked, turning once they had reached the study room’s door and glanced back towards where she’d last seen Ella to not find her there. She mumbled under her breath before walking into the room. 

she was sitting on the ground , her back resting against the sofa . she'd been waiting . and waiting . and waiting . nervous to see her again . a planned hangout . almost like a date . but it wasn't a date . clearly , she was nothing but corvina's friend . she'd settle on that for now . it was better than nothing , willing to feed herself on crumbs . while she would never fill herself up , she'd still get a taste . magdalena was scrolling on tiktok to distract herself , to take up time as she waited for corvina to return .

“  Trying to get you nice and mellow so you can’t leave me for a long, long time.  ” Corvina spoke - offering another option - though mainly teasing as their rooms were literally across from one another. “  Sweets coma, here we come!  ” she added on with a laugh as she gathered the empty grocery bags and folded them into one another. Saving to use for something later down the line - refusing to get rid of anything easily reusable. 

The mention of Ella made Corvina’s face contort but she forced herself to quickly recover and not allow her irritation to fully show. She was still in shock that her name was being slandered but shouldn’t have been surprised seeing what great a victim Ella liked to portrait. It all left a bad taste in her mouth, but she refused to let it ruin her semester. Keeping her a ten foot pole away along with the rest of that family is what Corvina had become used to since she was a mere teen. “  I haven’t really spoken to her since, I won’t lie to you. I don’t understand what she gains from dragging my name. Some of these rich folks just like attention and are willing to bring anyone down in order to get it. She’s just another entitled princess.  ” an eye roll filled with frustration, “  How would you approach the situation? If it were reversed?  ” Corvina asked, genuinely curious as she didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t often, or ever really, that she found herself at the end of an altercation.

He felt a bit relieved, that she’d been the first one to initiate the hug. Generally, Soren wasn’t awkward - but he momentarily froze, wondering where to put his arms. The last time they’d hugged, it’d been intimate. Soren about to fly across the globe for a new start, the two of them unsure of where they stood but still knowing they craved each other’s company. Eventually, he merely followed her lead, settled into the embrace - selfishly tucked his face into the crook of her neck. It felt weird, not doing so, though Soren leaned back quickly, attempting to be civil, refusing to slip into his old ways. Though that was always the goal - whether he had the strength to follow through was the real issue. 

“Ha! These bean poles? You still continue to flatter me - I’m undeserving of your time!” Often, when Soren teased, there was a bit of truth in his self deprecating statements. He knew what he was worthy of when it came to Corvina - it wasn’t much. “Shit - uh.” How had he been? How did someone say ‘terribly, but probably as terribly as you expected from me?’ without drawing concern or needing to delve into details? “Well, one of my profs denied me a TA position next semester because, apparently, I’m a distraction. Not that I cause distractions, but that I just am one. Can you believe that? Don’t answer that.” Without much of a thought, Soren pressed a gentle hand to Corvina’s waist, guiding them to the order line and pointing animatedly at the menu. “Their chocolate croissants have made me consider murder before. Lemme know what you want - I got it.” He’d scrounged up enough pocket and busking money to splurge on the two of them. A bit embarrassing, considering - but he wanted this to go well, didn’t want to give Vina a second to consider maybe anything was wrong. “How’ve your classes been going? Are you going through a total culture shock? I did - at first. It was so weird. Everything felt - way more difficult here. Y’know?”

It was all probably nothing, but her flesh warmed at the heat from his touch. Her eyes danced over to his face, but seeing nothing there, she swallowed and moved with him. Allowing him to pull her along to the counter where she glanced up at the menu she’d yet to take in despite having spent a good ten minutes awaiting his arrival. “ Ooh, that does sound so good. Maybe we get that and we can share?  ” she asked, turning to face him for a moment before turning back to the menu, “  Then perhaps just a choccy? Salted caramel sounds really nice right now.  ” Warm and inviting just like she hoped this encounter ended up being. 

There was no denying how much she had missed him, and while it’d only been a couple of minutes, Corvina couldn’t help but yearn for more. More time for them to catch up, more time for them to be fine, just more time with him. But she couldn’t really ignore his disappearing act, and wasn’t confident that after this day he wouldn’t go back to ignoring her for months at a time. Go back to ignoring her calls and messages until she was out of his space again. It was a cycle she had allowed to continue for years now simply for the momentary high that getting his attention put her through. 

“  No, I uh-  ” Vina flushed at the question, knowing just how odd her resolve probably was to him, “ I kind of… looked up a lot about the town and the school and all of this months in advance. I uh- had more than enough free time to really dig into the culture and learn the varying slangs and daily life of a Palladian student.  ” Got herself ready to focus on her school work and not too much her desire to learn, explore, and live in a new country and new atmosphere. “  I made a little binder, it’s actually rather cute. Maybe I’ll show you one day.  ” she said, adding in a desperate attempt at future plans, “  I brought it with me. What’s your schedule looking like this semester? Anything fun and exciting there?  ”

Corvina couldn’t remember the last time the two spoke, or even if they had gotten to the text exchange portion of their encounter, and being here now she couldn’t really understand why. Coming together again, after a wonderful first impression, she’d have to be entirely clueless to ignore the signs. She leaned over for a kiss, a hand finding it’s way to Bambi’s lower back as she leaned forward, “  How have you been? We definitely have to set aside some time to catch up.  ” And in an attempt to get an answer to her earlier silent curiosity, Vina turned to glance around them before asking, “  Do I need to steal you away from anyone in here? Anybody who'd care?  ” 

although  people  were  probably  irked  by  the  way  bash  would  rarely  cary  the  conversation,  it  wasn't  a  signifier  on  his  actual  interest  to  the  topic.  people  mistook  his  silence  for  tuning  out  and  sure,  sometimes  that  was  true,  but  more  often  than  not  he  was  always  paying  attention.  noticing  when  the  tone  in  someone's  voice  changed  or  when  their  mannerisms  alerted  a  difference.  he  didn't  cater  to  this,  of  course,  but  he'd  note  it  down  in  the  filing  cabinet  that  was  his  mind.  he  never  really  understood  needing  to  fill  every  beat  with  noise.  frankly,  he  enjoyed  when  he  could  sit  quietly  with  someone.  stare  up  at  the  clouds,  count  the  stars.  a  part  of  bash  had  true  appreciation  for  all  things  around  them,  including  the  architecture.  it  definitely  was  very  far  off  from  the  cities  he  was  used  to. 

At least it wasn’t at all packed. A couple of people adorning the bar and a few off playing to the side. Nothing too different from that which she knew, but still decorated far greater than any other tavern she’s ever been to. “  Alright,  ” she began, glancing down at her phone to clock the time before she gave herself a limit, “  I have about another hour before I have to meet one of my tour partners at the school for our next rotation. Do you know what you’ll be up to for the rest of the day?  ” Vina asked, turning to face him as she took a seat in one of the high tables. “  Do you plan on finishing the tour?  ” 

“With Percy?” That made Robin’s brows perk up - information to be stowed away for later. “I’m at, uh -,” She’d forgotten at least three times now, going as far as to finally write the information down onto the palm of her hand, reading it now to relay to Corvina. “Carnelian - I saw a few of my friends over there, but everyone’s busy moving shit in. I just dumped my bags and ran, I’m not interested in unpacking right now. Didn’t even see my roommate, this girl named Juliet - how long do you think she can avoid me for?” Robin tuned into Vina’s breezy attitude, the way she brushed off Robin’s concern. It was the sort of familiarity she’d been hoping to bypass as they awkwardly bumbled their way through a lunch together, momentarily reminiscing on how she’d used to say the same right before the two of them got into arguments. “So, you just wanted to catch up out of the goodness of your heart, huh? Nothing bothering you? I know you better than that.” She mumbled, shoving open the doors to the building they were in and already reaching for her pack of smokes, itching for one as minor irritability built up.

“  Can you really see this as her avoiding you if you just mentioned dropping off your bags and running for the hills?  ”  Vina asked, raising a brow with amusement. Juliet. The name sounded familiar, though a face did not appear for her. It wasn’t as if she knew too many people anyways, aside from those who had claimed a piece of her over the years, so the likelihood of her knowing this new roommate were rather slim. 

The question shouldn’t have frustrated her, Corvina was awfully predictable - especially to Robin who’s seen her in more vulnerable ways than others. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of offense. “  I do love and value our friendship, Robin. Regardless of our…  ” Corvina sighed, reaching over for Robin’s arm so she could stop her from continuing on her own, “ I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to argue, just - I don’t know. I miss you, okay? I don't know how to make us right again.  ” She wasn’t sure just how to talk about anything when all Vina had ever done was go crying to Robin. How was this time any different? Even if Soren was the least of her present problems. But she could already sense Robin shutting down on her. “  I just got into a bit of an altercation with someone is all… it wasn’t-  ” Him. Though she refused to bring him up in front of her again, after the way things ended. “  - it’s not even that important a thing. It’s such a long and busy day, so it just threw me off. I’m really okay.  ”

the offer of cookies squeezed the breath out of her lungs . a sign of peace . a sign of war . appreciation for the offer playing tug-of-war with the memories of given gifts when they were a couple . typically , it was easy for her to move on . to forgive and forget . because , typically , she was the one who needed to be forgiven . she didn't like to dwell on the past , didn't like to be pinned down by wrongdoings . but with corvina , the past was quicksand sucking her down . " that would be nice . you've always been a great baker . i wasn't blessed with that skill . always forget to turn the oven on at the start . " offer taken in a form of begrudging acceptance . a metaphorical white flag . becuase she didn't want to fight . they never really fought . it just ended . the lights in a theater turned off , and magdalena was the only one left sitting in a seat . disoriented and all alone .

Her shock was fleeting, only present as it’d already been in her mind. “  What?  ” she asked, believing she must have spoken the name out loud, “  No, suh!  ” Corvina went on to exclaim, then turned around - covering her mouth, though no one had seemed to care, “  Me too!  ” 

END

For the better part of ten minutes, Soren had stood a foot away from the entrance of Café Marta, debating between what the pros and cons of actually going in would be. Pros - seeing Corvina again. Cons - seeing Corvina again. "Fuckin' - stupid, cowardly piece of shit -." He grumbled to himself, looking every bit as insane as he felt, kicking limply at the wall directly beside the door and stubbing out his third cigarette in a row. Soren knew he had a penchant to be late, losing track of time seemingly second nature, but she'd been waiting for him long enough at this point. Longer than ten minutes, in the grand scheme of things.

She'd always been objectively beautiful, but there was something different now. It'd been a long time since they'd seen each other in person - Soren wondered if she'd notice differences in him that flew right over his head. "In need of directions, ma'am? You look lost." It felt easier to revert to what he knew - nothing too detrimental, make a joke of a situation if need be to get through. There were probably a hundred better jokes he could've landed on upon finally approaching her, but he was still attempting to settle the uncertainty swirling in his stomach. Maybe this hadn't been a great idea after all, he wasn't exactly known for having those. And still, he selfishly felt grateful that he'd caved in the end, flashing Corvina a sheepish grin. "Hey." Did they hug? Was that weird? He wanted to hug her. He also wanted a fourth cigarette. "Have you, uh, been waiting long? I... forgot my phone which is whatever but. What if I got mugged on the way? And it was the one time I forgot my phone? I'm still as proactive as ever, see?"

Her thoughts continued to pollute her sanity the longer she sat alone in that cafe. Hands sweaty from anticipation and the excitement of seeing him again. Vina had ordered herself a drink that sat untouched on the table before her, but she did a good job of pretending to be consumed by the reels on her phone. Scrolling through them just as quick as they appeared, without truly focusing on anything being presented. It took only minutes more before she caught sight of him entering the establishment. 

By this point it would have been too obvious if she fixed up her hair some more, or arranged her sitting, so she chose to stand as he walked towards her. A smile effortlessly findind her features as she glanced up at his face. Not a change in sight. Just… “  Hey!  ” she exclaimed, working against herself as she leaned over to wrap her arms around him. Measuring the meaning of where to bring her arms and what the placement would convey in return. Vina couldn’t help herself and chuckled at his ridiculousness. “  I’m sure you would have fought your way through it. Gotten a few hits in, even. I’ve seen what those arms can do.  ” And with the moment now all buoyant, Corvina felt herself easing into a more comfortable stance. “  How have you been? I swear it’s only been like three weeks but this place has consumed me.  ”