#opulensed

her life, or what she could remember of it, was not particularly difficult, but there was something eating away at her nonetheless. her recurring nightmare struck her often, the screeching of tires and the sound of glass shattering haunted her often, becoming an image that not only plagued her sleep but also her waking thoughts. though she willed herself to remember, she was unable to piece together the puzzle that was the recurring dream, with time the scene had become longer and she was sure she had witnessed an accident, but she was unable to remember who had been hurt or why she had been there. anzu had clearly attested to something horrible and her lack of recollection was beginning to drive her mad but it was her own choice to keep it hidden, buried still beneath that laughable smile she always plastered on her face. it was easier that way. smile, sit pretty, and keep quiet. her aunt had told her that often, though it was typically winded in with stories of her own youth. as a teenager, instead of turning towards rebellion as many did, she simply accepted her title as a failure that her mother slapped upon her before shipping her off to another country. she was still unsure of what exactly she’d done to earn such a nasty name but she chose to never press on it. she never pressed, never questioned, just accepted.

then, leo entered, like a turbulent storm with the capability of breaking down anzu’s walls quicker than she was able to build them. she brought out the emotions anzu tried so desperately to regress, questioning her on things she’d have rather kept buried and never speak of again and it infuriated in hers she was unable to wrap her head around. anzu, as flippant and naive as she appeared, was quite keen on keeping her personal life completely to herself, but the other knew just the right buttons to press to cause anzu to slip if only for a few seconds, but no matter how much she deflected over messages, she’d mull about the conversation for hours afterword. it’d be easy to say she hated leo, but that wouldn’t exactly be the truth, as something kept drawing her back in to the other that even she was unable to place a finger on. perhaps it was some inner need of her own to be found out and draw her out of the shadows she’s cast around herself or maybe it was simply nothing more than her own foolishness. no matter the reason, it didn’t matter too much, for she found herself spending more time around the other despite the way the bickered over text and it seemed as though her run in with leo on the ground battling her own demons hand’t changed much. if anything, it may have tethered them together, despite the fact the two of them really had no reason to be communicating in the first place. 

realistically, anzu should have ran the moment leo decided to message her for the first time as she’d never been too fond of others acting too familiar with her upon meeting for the first time, but unlike those who she would have quietly ghosted, something about leo enticed her to continue messaging her back. sometimes, she thought she’d completely lost her mind reading back some of the things the other would send her, but in a way it was always exciting to speak with the other. if nothing else, she was always kept on her toes, there was truly no way to read what leo was going to do next and some small part of her enjoyed the thrill. maybe her slow descent into her own despair was chipping away at her brain, after all. she hadn’t had much to say besides deflection, easily playing the part of the innocent kitagawa anzu persona she’d built up, but despite being easily flustered, it wasn’t as though she really minded being teased. it at least reminded her she was capable of being sought after in a strange roundabout way.

all that knowledge she'd garnered of the other shouldn't have prepared her for anything besides the worst, but anzu had been imprudent and allowed herself to get swept away into the storm. still, standing before leo and that smug look she wore on her face paired with the way she had been speaking had her trepid nature melting away, replaced by clenched fists held steadfast at her sides, curled so tight her knuckles turned white. it wasn't as though she hadn't been angry before, but it was not often it was so openly directed at another person, instead it was an emotion she reserved solely for herself in the quiet comfort of her own bedroom, the emotion more often than not directed towards the white pillow perched at the head of her bed. however, this time, leo had pressed just a touch too far, the visage of her mom's disappointed look as she was dropped off at the gate of the airport as tears bubble up in her eyes at the forefront of her mind. the image is half recreated as she feels the familiar sting in her eyes, but she's not about to willingly let herself cry in front of the other. instead she stomps one foot like a petulant child, her brows knitting together as she eyes the other with slightly glassy eyes, lips turned into a grimace foreign on her face. 

"you know what?" she pauses, taking a shaky breath before she continues, her fingers curling tighter at her sides. "fuck you, leo. you don't know anything at all about me." somehow, though, she'd perhaps pieced together more about anzu in a short time than anybody had before and the fact was enough to frighten her into her defensive mode, something that usually brought out her vast amount of deflections. if there was one thing that could bring out the worst in anzu it was certainly the mention of her parents. their disapproval of her came suddenly, as from what she could piece together from her memories she'd been the model daughter until being thrown aside like nothing more than garbage. while they had been brought up during leo and anzu's messages on multiple occasions, something about having them mentioned to her face left her feeling off, but she assumed it had something to do with the way leo was so confident in her prodding. 

"you're always saying this and that about me but have you even taken a second to really get to know me? you're nothing more than an asshole who thinks she understands everything when in reality you barely know anything at all." another pause paired with another shaky breath, her body curling in on itself slightly as she takes a small step back, trembling with the force of the emotions that are right on the verge of spilling over, a thin layer of tears having now built up but not yet falling over the edge. "i feel like such an idiot for ever feeling bad for you that day. you didn't deserve it." another step back as she turns her head away, her hair falling in just a way it shields her from having to look at the other. a lone teardrop hits the floor and splatters and that's when anzu's facade falters, the girl taking a few more rapid steps back before she completely collapses in on herself, crouching down to hold her head in her hands as she attempted to keep her breathing from getting out of control, feeling overwhelmed on top of the sheer embarrassment from breaking down in front of leo of all people. 

she despised the smug look that always worked its way onto leo’s face whenever the other taunted her, whether it be through one of her many insults or the way she purposely pushed on anzu’s buttons in order to get her squirm. though, it was not for the reason she’d like to believe it was. it’d be too simple to state it was because she didn’t like the other woman, but it was much more complicated, and the fact it wasn’t straightforward was the reason for her distress in the first place. still, standing here before the other, the only thought running through anzu’s mind was how desperately she wanted to wipe that look of leo’s face.

it hadn’t always been this way. in the beginning, the look in particular would only serve to fluster anzu, leading her to nervously play with the fabric of her sleeves under the other’s prying gaze, but overtime it’d evolved into something anzu couldn’t stand seeing. she wasn’t exactly sure where she’d drawn the line, but there was something about seeing leo satisfied that only served to anger her rather than cause her to blush and fumble over her words. this time was no different, and despite the fact they were standing in the middle of her own living room, she felt no comfort in her surroundings, instead attempting to fight off the irritation building within her the more leo continues to speak. she feels the tell tale signs of her anger and she can tell leo picks up on it too, she was too keen not to. 

“what is it, baby, getting angry over a little joke?”

anzu doesn’t register the way her hands tightly curl into fists until they hurt, her eyes widening momentarily as she attempts to compose herself, properly adjusting herself into a semi relaxed stance as she frowns. leo’s laughter does nothing to calm her, but she stays rooted to the spot for the moment, unwillingly to run away as much as she wanted to. it’d be too easy to escape into the confines of her own room, but something inside her was compelling her to stay and face the other head on. she wasn’t sure if she liked this side of her yet, but it was too soon to tell if her three second decision to stand her ground would bring upon any real consequences.

“you’re not going to say anything back? looks like i was right!”

she doesn’t frown but instead her face twists into a scowl, her body tightening right back up into that tensed position she’d become so used to whenever she was in leo’s presence. now, even trying to will herself to calm down, she can’t quite bring herself to do it and she only grows irritated with herself for allowing leo to crawl under her skin yet again. even so, she refused to walk away.

“shut up, leo.” her voice comes out weaker than she intends and she hears the snort from the other side of the room. leo opens her mouth to speak again, but anzu’s quick to interrupt, tired of letting the other control the conversation every single time they spoke. “i’m sick of you being so mean to me, and for what? i’ve never even done anything to you.” it’s a feeble attempt at fighting leo off and she knows it, but she hadn’t had enough time to wrack her brain for anything better, the small huff that escapes her only solidifies how fragile her defense was.

the smug expression returns and anzu’s fingers tighten. she really hated that expression. it ruffled her, not only because of why it was there, but because she found it wickedly attractive. the problem was, finding anything about leo alluring at all was confusing enough, and she hated to admit to herself that she liked anything at all about the other besides the weird relationship they’d stumbled into. she couldn’t exactly consider it friendship, but she supposed labeling leo as an enemy would be too much. she didn’t know where they fell, but she was positive that she was charmed by a smirk of all things. sometimes, if not all the time, she really hated her own mind.

“you’re quiet. thinking about me again? we could always pull the maid outfit back out again.”

so sure the other has more to say, anzu takes her chance to make her way over before leo has the chance to slip an insult in. she didn’t want to hear it, and she’d do anything to both shut her up and get rid of the infuriating look that drove her mad. though, once she finds herself just a few paces away from leo, she finds herself at a loss. she stops just a step away and faces the other with wide eyes, the gears in her mind whirring for something, anything, but she comes up blank. for a moment, nothing happens, but as with anytime she was around leo, the silence didn’t last long.

but anzu doesn’t hear it, the blood rushing to her head drowns it out as she takes that last step forward, brows furrowing together as she frowns.

“god, just shut up already, leo!” it comes out rushed, and harsher than she expects, but she doesn’t allow herself to dwell on it for long, her body seemingly acting on it’s own as she grabs the other by the cheeks and leans in to press their lips together. it’s nothing too pleasant, anzu only lingering for a few second before she realizes what she’s done, pulling away as though she’d been burned her cheeks bright red as she casts her gaze off to the side. she momentarily forgets to pull her hands away and they rest upon leo’s cheeks, similar to that day she found her on the floor, before she pulls those too away. it’s eerily silent, and anzu can’t even bring herself to chance a look at the other. not yet. she’d never done something so wildly impulsive before, but she didn’t exactly regret it. she, instead, was more perplexed at the fact she wasn’t running away immediately, but still standing there like a fool right in front of leo.

“that’s it?”

leo’s voice is enough to pull her out of her own thoughts, and anzu finds herself, once again, faced with that frustrating look on her face again. still blushing, she frowns, determined now more than ever after her taunt to not back down. she shakes her head in response, more to herself than the other, and leans in again similar to how she had before before she can talk herself down. this time when they meet, anzu doesn’t pull away, instead pressing impossibly closer despite her lingering shyness. it’d been so long since she touched anyone like this, so besides the fact it was leo, she would be lying if she stated it were anything but pleasant. she awkwardly moves her hands from leo’s face down to her waist, gentle in her grasp as she tugs the other closer to her, determined to leave leo as witless as her even if it were only for a few moments. if anything, she assumed her tongue slipping into leo’s mouth could do the talking for her.