#rod fics

After three months of dating and while they walked through the college campus, Satya had asked Olivia why wasn’t she more open to her and Olivia didn’t know what to answer.

“What do you mean, Saty?” Olivia asked nervously.

“It’s the fact that you haven’t told me much about your life. Is there any reason I haven’t gained that level of trust yet? I am your girlfriend, after all.”

Olivia hesitated. “We agreed to take it slow. That’s what I’m doing.”

“You haven’t answered my question.” To any bystander, it would’ve seemed that there was no emotion behind Satya’s words, but to Olivia, who had been getting to know her for the past five months, it was clear that Satya was slightly annoyed.

Olivia sighed. “I trust you like no other person. It’s just… sorta hard to explain. What if you come by my place later today? Then I can tell you more about me.”

Satya stayed silent for half a minute when she just nodded.

After their classes were over, Olivia brought Satya to her apartment, although she made her wait outside for a minute or two while she frantically tidied up the place a little bit.

The first thing Olivia did once Satya was inside the apartment was showing her the notebook of Sombra, an alter ego of hers that she tried to explain on the way there but failed miserably.

“So, from what I gather only from the first page of your notebook, you insinuate that you collect information from several people for your eventual benefit?”

Olivia’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Y-Yes, pretty much.” Her ‘monologue’ had been disjointed and inconsistent, but Satya clearly saw what Olivia had tried to convey, even if it was apparently nonsense. Olivia wondered how well did Satya know her at that point. “That is basically what I do all the time. You keep yourself busy either coaching the debate team, or kicking someone’s ass in the chess club, or studying even though you don’t actually need to. I only go to school, pretend that I’m learning and then I go and do my thing.”

“Collect information?”

“That’s right.”

Satya turned the pages of the notebook and it was filled with Sombra’s ‘discoverings’. She skimmed through them with a critical eye. “If these are Sombra’s secrets, I assume she obtained them without their owners’ consent, am I right?”

Olivia nodded.

“Oli, this seems a little bit… crazy, like you say. Why would you choose to do this?”

“It’s… complicated.” Olivia thought for a second. “Maybe I can show you, kinda. Can I borrow your phone?”

Satya handed her phone to Olivia.

“Now, can I unlock it?”

“Yes. The password is—” But before Satya could tell her, Olivia interrupted her.

“I don’t need the password. I just need your permission to unlock the phone.”

Satya looked confused at her girlfriend but nodded her approval.

Olivia held down the power button and one volume button while she introduced a passcode in the lock screen, the screen turned into a menu and she introduced a series of numbers in it. When she finished, she was on the main screen, and she showed it to Satya. “This is what I used to do, back when I was in Mexico.”

“Unlock phones?” Satya asked while retrieving her phone.

Olivia snorted. “No. I can hack my way into most things.” She grabbed Satya’s hand and guided her to the old but comfy couch that was next to the door of the apartment. “Look, when I was a kid, I discovered I could manipulate my way into any kind of software, from phones to government sites. I did it mostly for fun, and I didn’t harm anybody… I think.” Olivia said the last part in a lower voice. “Anyway, I was stupid and got involved with a local gang, Los Muertos. It was small and I thought that hanging out with them could be fun.”

“And it wasn’t?” Satya asked.

“At first, it was. But the gang turned bigger and eventually they wanted to use my abilities to bring down society into chaos, so they could ‘establish the true anarchy’.” Olivia raised her hands and air quoted the last phrase. “So I had to flee.”

“Are they after you, looking for revenge?” Satya’s expression was neutral, but there was a tinge of worry in her voice, imperceptible almost to no one. Except Olivia.

Olivia smiled. “Nothing so dramatic. I think you’ve watched too many action movies. No, I faked my death and traveled without course for a while, at least until I got here.”

“How is faking your death not ‘dramatic’?”

Olivia laughed. “Ok, I wasn’t clear enough. I just created a fake obituary, altered a news announcement about a highway crash and showed those to them.”

“Show how?”

Olivia shrugged. “They were sorta dangerous but not very smart. There was a gossipy boy that ‘found out’ about the highway crash while surfing on the web. Pretty sure everyone in the gang knew about it in less than a day.”

Satya sighed, relieved. She turned her attention to the notebook. “This still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Right. What I did with Los Muertos was dangerous, but it was my choice. I liked to hack into any system, to see if I could do it and discover whatever secrets lay beyond the security firewalls… I still do. It is an addiction, you see, nothing extreme but an addiction nonetheless.”

Satya looked back at the notebook and it started dawning on her.

“This…” Olivia pointed at the notebook. “…is my way to cope. I still hunt for secrets, but these are way safer and usually more innocent than what I’d find stored inside a computer.”

“And what do you do with these, aside from gathering them?”

Olivia shrugged. “I use them for my benefit, I guess.”

Satya thought about everything she had just learned and stayed quiet for a while. Olivia went to the kitchen to get some water for both and wordlessly handed a glass to Satya. After five minutes, Satya spoke. “Tell me how you obtain these secrets.”

Olivia opened her mouth to answer and closed it again. She hesitated. “I can tell you, but every secret requires a different approach, so maybe if you choose one from the notebook, I can explain it to you.”

Satya skimmed through the notebook and found a short sentence. “‘L. O. has the hots for the French teacher’s aid. E. W. too.’ What does that mean?”

“Heh, I discovered that by accident, though it was pretty obvious if you knew where to look at.”

~ ~ ~

Sombra entered the languages department while no one was inside. She had memorized all the teachers’ schedules and knew when their office cubicles would be empty. She carried an empty envelope just in case that there was someone inside, as an excuse to ‘deliver a project’ to these or that teacher and not get caught.

This time, as predicted, no one was there. Sombra didn’t have a specific target this time, but she hoped to collect any information deemed valuable to her. She had her lockpicks on her, but she tried each cubicle door first, because stupidity and carelessness were faster than lockpicking.

The door to the German teacher’s cubicle was unlocked, and Sombra smiled. “Gotcha. Step 2 of infiltration complete.” She liked to talk to herself while she did her investigation.

She scanned the small office for anything unusual. A framed picture of the professor and his wife on the desk, a huge mug that said ‘Best Uncle in the World’ on top of the file cabinet, for some reason a fishing rod in the corner… nothing piqued Sombra’s interest.

There was what seemed like a handwritten letter on the desk, and Sombra started reading:

Oh, my Egyptian goddess My love for you burns like a thousand suns Your naked body still makes my knees go weak And I cannot wait for you to take me like last time The way you…

Sombra abruptly stopped reading before slightly shivering. “Professor Wilhelm can keep that secret all to himself… and his wife, I guess.” She left the letter exactly where she had found it. She thought about inspecting the desk drawers or the file cabinet, but she didn’t think it was worth it. “Maybe next time.”

She closed the door of the cubicle and was about to try the next one when she heard someone at the department’s door. Without a second thought, she jumped out of the window; thankfully the department was at the ground floor. She crouched and pressed her back to the wall, listening intently. The hedge that circled the building was perfect to hide her from curious eyes.

She could listen clearly to two women. A teacher and a student, maybe?

“I don’t understand it, Lena. You attend all the classes and seem to pay enough attention, but you always come for tutoring lessons.” Said the first voice.

“I know, Miss Guillard. But I simply cannot seem to grasp French.” Said the second voice.

Ever curious, Sombra took out her phone from her jacket, opened the camera app and turned her upper body to her left so she could see who was speaking. This was an uncomfortable position given that she was still crouching with her lower body pressed to the wall, but there wasn’t much room to move thanks to the hedge.

She pressed the phone to the wall and slowly slid it up until the camera lens was just above the windowsill. Visuals acquired. She thought. In the room she could see two familiar faces, even though she hadn’t properly met them: freshman student Lena Oxton and senior student and French teacher’s aide Amélie Guillard. Chip butty girl and Miss Croissant.

“It’s strange that you always have doubts when Monsieur Lacroix is busy and I’m not.” Amélie said.

Lena hesitated for a second. “It’s a… a… a coincidence. I don’t know why would that be. And Mr. Lacroix has been very busy since the birth of his son.”

Sombra snickered to herself. Smooth, girl.

Amélie thought about it. “Yes, you are right. Still, it is also strange that you have doubts in different topics whenever we meet. As if you were unlearning previous acquired knowledge.”

Lena stuttered, unsure of what to say. “You see, I… uhm…”

For her part, Sombra was enjoying this and wondered if ‘Miss Croissant’ had noticed the blush on Lena’s cheeks. So focused she was that when a cat walked passed her, she was slightly surprised and lost her balance, almost falling face first on the hedge, but she stopped her fall with her free hand. A hand that landed on something soft, wet and warm. Apparently, cats weren’t the only animals that wandered among the hedge.

Sombra couldn’t help it. “¡Ewww, mierda!” She hissed.

Lena’s stuttering stopped and Sombra almost brought her hand to her mouth. She stopped just in time but grimaced at the nauseating smell. She made a huge effort to not retch then and there.

After a few long moments, she heard Amélie speaking again. “Look, Lena, I am busy today but not tomorrow. Meet me at 4 in the library and I will help you.”

“Thank you, Miss Guillard.”

There was a shuffling of papers and then the department’s door opened and closed. After about 20 seconds, Sombra gave a sigh of relief. She peeked through the window and confirmed that the department was empty once again, but her plans on collecting information had gone down the drain.

She stood up, put away her phone and looked at her hand. “No mames, de todos los lugares donde podrías haber cagado, maldito perro…”

Sombra wanted to wash her hand on the first bathroom she could find and then return home for a long, long shower. She jumped over the hedge with some difficulty and ran to the closest building; she turned a corner and collided with someone, with both of them falling on their asses.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Sombra said and stood up. The redhead she had accidentally knocked down did the same.

“I wasn’t looking either.”

There were a few paper sheets on the ground that belonged to the redhead and Sombra began gathering them. That’s when she noticed one of them had really good sketches of Amélie Guillard. Her profile had been drawn several times, but the biggest sketch covered half the page and it belonged to Amélie’s perfect ass.

The redhead quickly took away her drawings from Sombra, her face red like a tomato. “Thank you.”

An idea sprung in Sombra’s mind. “If you’re having trouble learning French, you should know that Miss Guillard is going to help a few students tomorrow at the library at 4.”

Redhead looked funny at Sombra and was about to reply when something else got her attention. “What is that smell?” She covered her nose and made a face.

“¡Qué la…” Sombra said exasperated before running away to find a bathroom.

~ ~ ~

Satya was looking intently at Olivia’s hand, as if she was judging it.

“Girl! That was months ago!” Olivia said.

Satya thought about it for a moment and nodded. “So Lena and Emily were infatuated with Miss Guillard. Why did you set them up?”

“Not much of a setup. I just thought it would be funny. Surprisingly they became a couple, though I think they still pine over Amélie.”

“How do you feel about them being a couple?”

The question took Olivia by surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Your actions potentially led them to meet each other and subsequently that led to a relationship. How do you feel about that?”

Olivia considered it. “Good, I guess?”

Satya looked at her girlfriend with an unreadable expression, and Olivia wondered what was going through her mind. Finally, Satya spoke again. “Oli, have you broken into the president’s office?”

Olivia almost choked on the water she was drinking. After coughing a little bit, she asked. “How did you know?”

“You find your alter ego’s life thrilling. It stands to reason that the greater the risk, the greater the thrill.”

“Damn, Saty. Am I that transparent to you?”

“Transparent? I don’t understand.”

Olivia smiled. “I just meant that you seem to know me very well, maybe better than myself.”

“I don’t think that is plausible.”

“Oh, it is.” Olivia kissed Satya’s forehead, which made the latter blush a little.

Satya regained her composure and asked. “Where is the secret involving the president?”

“I was afraid you were gonna ask that.” Olivia took the notebook and flicked through its pages. She found the secret and showed it to Satya.

Satya began reading. “How did you find out about this?”

“Believe me, I almost regret that day.”

~ ~ ~

Sombra was crouched in front of president Morrison’s office door. She was trying to lock pick her way in, a skill learned back in the day when she was with Los Muertos.

The school was practically empty because it was the start of a long weekend, the perfect time for some snooping information retrieval. President Morrison’s office was at the end of a hallway, so Sombra had placed a small spy camera on the opposite end that broadcasted directly to her phone. File cabinets flanked the door, hiding Sombra from curious eyes.

With a flick of the wrist, Sombra heard the lock mechanism open and a moment later she was inside the president’s office. “Phase 1, complete. Infiltration was successful. Proceeding to phase 2.” She said. “Let’s hunt for some secrets.”

The office wasn’t too big and Sombra quickly ruled out the bookshelves and the file cabinets that were farthest from the desk, which were bound to contain boring administrative documents. That left only a file cabinet behind the president’s chair and the desk drawers.

A quick look at the cabinet revealed that it was locked, but the desk wasn’t. Sombra chose the quick option and started rummaging through the desk contents. “What is all this crap?” She said while quickly examining it. “Golf balls? A collection of old coins? A planner…? A motherfucking phone book? Who in their right mind would still use it? Get with the times, gramps.” She contained the urge to toss everything over her shoulder and instead put it back exactly how she found it.

Sombra was about to check the second drawer when movement caught her eye. Her phone was showing two people walking down the hallway: president Morrison and his executive assistant, Reyes. “Shit.” She looked around the office but knew that it was in vain; the entrance was the only exit… unless she jumped out the window and magically grew wings to survive a 50-feet fall.

Praying that they were heading to Reyes’s office —opposite to Morrison’s— Sombra ducked under the desk. It was a bad hiding place but it was the only one, and it would be better than nothing. The back panel of the desk was big enough to cover her as long as they didn’t bend down to look under it.

Sombra put away her phone and swore under her breath when the door opened. She could see Morrison’s feet from where she was, followed by Reyes’s. The latter slammed the door closed and shoved the former, hard.

What’s happening? Are they fighting? Sombra could only see their feet.

Morrison turned around fast and Sombra expected to hear them throw punches, but instead Reyes closed the distance between them and… and… What? Sombra listened intently and after a few seconds she realized what was going on. They are making out? In this office? With me under the desk?!

Now that Sombra knew what was happening, she was trying to block every sound that came from Morrison and Reyes with no success. Every time they drew breath, every time the kisses turned sloppy, every time they murmured each other’s names, Sombra was there documenting every last bit of it, and she hated it with a passion. God, I know you don’t exist, but please, make them stop. She thought in her miserable spot under the desk.

As if someone had listened to her prayers, Sombra noticed that indeed they stopped. They were catching their breath but apparently they were done. Yes! Now please go away so I can leave this place. Sombra was really uncomfortable confined to that tiny spot, unable to move lest she made a sound.

“I really hate that I cannot kiss my husband whenever I want.” Reyes said.

“You know the rules we agreed upon.” Morrison replied.

“Yeah, yeah. That doesn’t mean that I hate this any less, Jackie.”

They started kissing again and Sombra noticed this time was more heated than before. She groaned internally and rolled her eyes. But then she heard something else: the tinkle of a belt buckle. Sombra’s whole body tensed up in a second. Don’t do it, hoe! She saw how Reyes’s pants fell to his feet, along with his underwear. The scream that rang in Sombra’s head was astounding.

“Gabe… we… shouldn’t… not again…” Sombra’s eyes went wide at the last part. She had touched Morrison’s stuff with her own hands.

“You say that… but you’re not stopping me…” Reyes lunged forward, pushing Morrison and the desk back a few inches. Another belt was being unbuckled.

¡No mames! ¡Van a coger! ¡Y yo voy a escuchar todo!

¡TODO!

~ ~ ~

Satya was on the floor, wheezing uncontrollably, and Olivia had to interrupt the storytelling. Despite the fact that she almost died in that office (not literally, but it felt like it at the time), Olivia was happy to see her girlfriend laughing that way. It was worth everything she went through.

Olivia went to the bathroom and when she came back, Satya had calmed down considerably, although she was still giggling from time to time.

“Please continue.”

Olivia smiled. “There I was, trapped under the desk…”

~ ~ ~

Sombra regretted having slipped into president’s Morrison office. How I miss having poop smeared on my hand… That was almost ok compared to this! She took out her phone, the only thing she could try to use to get out of there. She thought on dialing Morrison’s office, but what if they didn’t pick up? What if they did pick up? It’s not as if she could talk under the desk. That’s when she saw Morrison’s pants fall to his feet and she sent all the fucks out of the window.

¡Ni madres! ¡Ni pinches madres! Sombra was frantically accessing the school’s network through her phone. She left the hacking for emergency situations only and today’s events qualified as one. Fuck it, I’m hacking the fire alarm system. I just need to be quick.

Right before she could trigger the alarm, the office’s phone rang. “Leave it…” Reyes said, panting.

“You know I can’t.” Morrison sighed. “I’ll be quick.” Sombra heard how he picked up. “President Morrison. Oh, Ana, what a surprise… No, of course not. I was actually about to leave the office… I swear, we are on our way.” There was a long pause and then Morrison’s tone turned somber. “Meet you there.” He hung up.

Reyes tried to start where they had left, but Morrison stopped him. “If you didn’t notice, we are going to meet Ana and Rein, right now.”

“We can be a little bit late.” Reyes was gently shoved back.

“We can’t. We’ve cancelled on them twice and Ana sounded…” Morrison gulped. “We need to leave now.”

Reyes scoffed. “What is she gonna do, Jackie?”

In the most serious voice, Morrison replied. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?”

Reyes froze, and he had nothing to say about that.

Sombra’s finger was hovering over her phone, one tap away from triggering the fire alarm, waiting expectantly. The few seconds of uncertainty felt like a year to her, but finally she saw how Reyes pulled up his pants and Morrison did the same.

“We have the worst timing.” Reyes said.

They took a couple of minutes to look presentable again and they left the office.

Sombra watched them from her phone and when they left the hallway, she sighed deeply. “Puta madre.” She said tired but relieved. She came out from under the desk, careful not to touch anything unless it was absolutely necessary. She checked her phone again and, seeing no one, she quickly exited the office.

Sombra skipped down the hallway, almost ran. She grabbed her spy camera and left the building as fast as she could. She didn’t want to take a step into the president’s office —or his executive assistant’s— ever again.

~ ~ ~

“‘J. M. is married to G. R.’ They mentioned it once while you were… listening.” Satya tried to hide her smile, but failed. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I did some public records digging and found out it was the case.”

“I assume you haven’t used this information to your advantage.”

“You would be, eh…” Olivia hesitated. “…technically true.”

Satya squinted her eyes for a moment. “You did use this information. How?”

Olivia raised her arms defensively. “I did nothing bad, I swear. I just sent an anonymous email to president Morrison urging him to check on Efi Oladele.”

Satya’s features softened. “The child prodigy?”

“Yes. She was being bullied by Moira O’Deorain. Nothing really bad, but it was almost an everyday thing, and I was getting sick of it. I told the president about the bullying and hinted that I knew about him and Reyes… I wish I could have seen his face when he read the email. Anyway, I don’t know how he handled it but Efi has been left alone since then.”

Satya mulled over Olivia’s words. “What did you get out of the situation with Efi?”

“I don’t know… Nothing, I guess. I mean, I can still use the secret marriage card on the president, but…” Olivia shrugged.

“Do you remember when you asked me to distract Angela a few months ago, just when biology class had finished? ‘Make her stay a little bit longer,’ you said.”

Olivia nodded.

“I didn’t see any harm on it, so I did as you requested. You left the classroom in a fake hurry and knocked down the other woman’s pencil case, towards Angela.”

“Oh, so you did notice that.” Olivia laughed nervously.

“I didn’t find it curious enough then, but now I do. Why did you do that?”

“It was painful (not literally) watching Fareeha and Angela pine over each other for two whole weeks. And they weren’t close to make a move! I noticed earlier that day a small tear in Angela’s pants, a perfect opportunity for making them talk for real, even if it turned awkward. I just needed them both alone in the same place at the same time, and it worked like a charm! Now they are joined at the hip.”

“No, they aren’t joined at the hip?” Satya said, confused.

“I mean inseparable.”

“Oh. Right.” Satya stayed quiet a few minutes, collecting her thoughts. At last she spoke again. “Olivia, do you realize that so far you’ve given me examples where you used your newly acquired knowledge, those secrets, to help other people?”

Olivia was speechless.

“Furthermore, you seem to enjoy helping others.”

“I don’t think that’s true, Saty.”

“Isn’t it? Let me quote you: ‘It was painful watching Fareeha and Angela pine over each other. Efi was being bullied and I was getting sick of it.’ In the end you helped them in your own way.”

“I don’t help people, Saty. I just gather information and use it.” Olivia lowered her voice. “I’m… I’m not a good person.” She fixed her gaze on the floor.

Satya grabbed Olivia’s face and gently lifted it so their eyes could meet. “Do not be absurd, Oli. Of course, you are. I sense there are things you haven’t told me because you haven’t come at peace with them yet, but I have no doubt that you are a good person.”

“I think you are wrong.” Olivia averted her eyes from Satya’s. “Do you know Lúcio Correia dos Santos? Star player of the soccer team, admired by students and teachers alike, practically an inspiration to everyone that meets him?”

“I’ve heard of him.”

“Well, I’m hunting for a secret that may destroy that life of his. Would a good person do that?”

Satya bit her lip. “What kind of secret?”

“He may have another girlfriend! That means that he may be a filthy cheater undeserving of all that admiration.”

Satya raised her eyebrows a little. “So you are angry on behalf of the girlfriend.”

“Yes! What kind of person would cheat on their significant other?! That’s so vile and despicable and—” Olivia cut herself off when she saw the smug smile on Satya’s face.

“You don’t want to ‘destroy’ his life, that’s collateral damage. You want to make sure that his girlfriend or potential girlfriends are treated with care and respect. Am I correct?”

Olivia wanted to refute Satya’s words, but the more she thought about them, the more sense they made.

Olivia lay down on the couch, resting her head on Satya’s lap, and thought critically about every secret she had used to her advantage, and slowly realized that her girlfriend’s reasoning was sound. She did exploit people’s secrets to help others.

Satya began playing with Olivia’s hair, and when the latter finally relaxed, Satya knew that Olivia had accepted the truth. “I’m never wrong.”

Olivia smiled, feeling beyond lucky to have Satya as her girlfriend.

~ ~ ~

After an hour of quietly cuddling on the couch, Satya, while still embracing Olivia, asked. “Can you explain to me why you think Lúcio is cheating on her girlfriend?”

“He’s been bragging to his teammates about a special girl that he will meet next week.”

“Can’t he be talking about his girlfriend?”

“Nah. They see each other every day, even if it’s a short meeting. He’s also asked his teammates not to tell Hana.”

“That is indeed suspicious behavior.”

Olivia nodded. “It’s still not enough, I need to be sure and stop making assumptions. That’s why I’m gonna follow him next week after classes. Apparently he’s going to meet the girl at his place.”

“Do you want some help?” Satya asked without hesitation.

Would you do that for me? Olivia didn’t utter the question because she knew damn well that Satya was serious about it, so instead she said “Yes, I’d really appreciate it.”

~ ~ ~

Sombra was walking a good 60 feet behind Lúcio, the soccer player none the wiser. She talked through her Bluetooth headset. “I am following the target. ETA is of about twenty minutes. What’s your status, Symmetra?”

“I will arrive in less than five minutes, Ol— Sombra.” Satya replied.

The couple had agreed that two people following one person was bound to attract more attention than just one, so Sombra had decided to follow Lúcio on his way home, while Symmetra got ahead of them and waited in front of Lúcio’s place. The objective was to take pictures of Lúcio with his ‘special girl’. The use of code names was of course Olivia’s idea, although Satya had come up with her own.

“Good. I’ll keep you updated on my progress. Notify me when you arrive to the destination.”

Sombra followed Lúcio for several blocks without incident, although she had to casually stop twice when he greeted an acquaintance and once she had to change sidewalks to avoid suspicion.

“Sombra? I am here, in front of Lúcio’s place… the destination.” Satya said. “It’s a small house. I see no one outside but there’s a car parked outside.”

“Understood. Stand by until the target arrives or I give you additional instructions.” Sombra waited for an answer but none came. Satya didn’t waste words, but if they were going to do this again, Sombra thought that she’d have to talk with her about proper espionage communication… not that there was such a thing in the first place.

Sombra turned around a corner and noticed that Lúcio wasn’t in front of her anymore. She panicked. “I lost visual on the target!”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, he was in front of me right before we took that corner, he couldn’t have gone too far.” Did he realize that I was following him? Sombra kept going and when she walked past a small convenience store she saw Lúcio inside. The problem was that he saw her, even making eye contact for a brief second.

Sombra kept walking without hesitation. “Shit. He stopped to buy a snack and I didn’t see him at first. Now he’s noticed my presence and I have to take adequate corrective measures.”

“In other words?” Symmetra asked.

Sombra turned around and saw that Lúcio hadn’t exited the store yet. She kept walking. “I’ll go ahead of him, hurry up and hide behind some bushes. He’s been following his usual route home so he’s bound to catch up with me. Then I’ll follow him again.”

“Tell me when you are behind the bushes.”

“Sure.” Sombra turned left on a narrow street and began jogging, but then stopped abruptly when she saw who was coming towards her. “Vale madres.”

“Sombra?” Satya asked, a bit concerned.

“Give me a sec.” Sombra was between the sword and the stone. She couldn’t go forward else she’d be risking her well-being, but she couldn’t turn back either because of Lúcio. She looked around for a place to hide and luckily there was one big enough for her. Unfortunately, it was a dumpster. “Why me?” She whined.

The two people in front of Sombra hadn’t noticed her yet, so she quickly climbed up inside the dumpster and closed the lid. The smell wasn’t so bad, but it was definitely a filthy place to hide.

“Oli, what’s going on?”

Sombra ignored the use of her real name and answered her girlfriend. “I almost ran into a couple of fellas that think I somehow wronged them.”

“Did you?”

Sombra scoffed. “Fair enough. But no, I did nothing to them. They just think I did, and this time it wasn’t my fault. I’ll wait for them to pass me by as well as Lúcio, then I’ll keep on with the mission.” Sombra turned quiet because she heard the two men approaching her.

“I tell you Roadie, cherry bombs down the toilet? That’s nothing compared to what I got in store.” Said the first voice. The second one was barely audible and Sombra couldn’t understand nothing from that one. “What do you mean my bombs won’t work, mate? I’ve tried them in the boonies.”

The voice was awfully close for Sombra’s liking, and to her dismay she heard how those two people climbed up onto the dumpster and sat there. No no no. This can’t be happening.

She ignored what the two guys above her were saying, but she couldn’t talk so she hung up and instead texted Symmetra.

I am trapped inside a dumpster. Lúcio is about to arrive. Take the pictures and then help me get out of here.

An ‘ok’ was the only reply she got. After that, it was a matter of waiting for Symmetra. This time there weren’t any fire alarms to trigger and it seemed that the two guys ranting about who knows what were going to take their sweet time at it.

I was so close. But at least Symmetra is helping me. She smiled at the thought. I’ll have to be patient, I think.

A quarter of an hour went by and Sombra wasn’t sure how she was enduring the stink, but she hadn’t passed out yet, so she was relatively ok.

“…and then you strap me to the chair and light up the fireworks…” The guy who was talking was interrupted.

“Excuse me, can you get off that dumpster?” A woman said.

Saty!

“Sure thing. Come on, Roadie. I’m gonna show you the tire I found in the junkyard. I think it’s perfect for— No, not for that.” Said the man.

Both men walked away and only when they were gone did Symmetra opened the dumpster’s lid. Sombra climbed out of the dumpster, inhaling deeply the fresh air. “Thank you.”

“Wasn’t there any other place to hide?” Satya was a little disgusted.

“Believe me, girl. If there had been a better place, you bet I would have taken it.” After getting rid of most of the filth that stuck to her, Sombra remembered why was she trapped in there in the first place. “Did you get the pictures?”

Satya nodded. “Yes. I got one that’s very clear.”

“Let me see, let me see.”

Satya took out her phone and showed the picture to Olivia.

“¿Qué?” Lúcio was smiling in the picture, posing for the camera, hugging his girl tightly: a 60-pound Golden Retriever.

“That’s his dog, Molly. His parents are visiting him for the weekend and brought her along. He didn’t want to tell Hana because he wants to surprise her tomorrow. She loves dogs.” Satya calmly explained.

“How— How did you learn all that?” Olivia asked, flabbergasted.

“I asked him.”

Olivia’s jaw dropped. For a brief moment she was mad, but then she started laughing. “All this fucking trouble over a damn dog. Unbelievable.” After she calmed down, she added. “Well, at least he isn’t cheating on his girlfriend. Hana doesn’t deserve that.”

“Was your face in contact with the filth inside the dumpster?”

“No? I only got dirty from the chest down.”

Satya kissed Olivia’s cheek, which made the latter blush.

Satya draped her jacket over her shoulders and offered one sleeve for Olivia to hold, which the latter gladly took. “Let’s go. You need a shower.”

“You tell me the most romantic things.” Olivia said, teasingly.

Angela thought for a second. “There’s a good place that you may like. And it’s also on the way to my apartment.”

“What? No homemade food? Or you’re going to tell me that you only have instant noodles at your place?” Fareeha asked with a smirk.

Angela turned a slight shade of red before she playfully swatted her friend’s arm. “I don’t do that anymore! My days as an intern that functioned on an instant noodles diet are long gone. I don’t know why you always have to bring that back.” Angela reproached her, but with a smile.

“If I don’t take care of you, who’s gonna do it?” Fareeha had a cheeky grin.

Angela rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. “Fair enough. But not one more mention of instant noodles or I’ll feed you only that until you return to Egypt.”

Fareeha slid her index finger and thumb over her mouth, making Angela laugh. They grabbed their things and exited the airport.

~ ~ ~

“…I just wanted to help him, but he was being so obnoxious and there were more people waiting for my assistance. So I pulled the Caduceus Staff from the other room and I told him ‘Your injuries require me to administer antibiotics via injection’ and I’m not kidding, he turned pale so fast before he fainted.” Fareeha laughed at Angela’s story. “After that I treated him and carried on with the rest of the refugees.”

Angela and Fareeha had a hearty meal at a nearby restaurant and now they were making their way to Angela’s apartment. The day was clear and they had decided not to take a cab, the apartment wasn’t far after all. They were talking, catching up on everything that had been going on with their lives when Fareeha saw a frozen lake. She gazed at it curiously and then she remembered something.

“That’s the lake my mom used to take me to when I visited the base!” Fareeha ran feeling once again like a kid with Angela in tow. They stopped at the edge of the lake and Fareeha dropped her duffle bag on the ground. “My mom taught me how to skate here.”

“I remember now!” Angela piped up. “You were so small then.” She giggled.

“I blame the cold. As soon as I went back with my dad, puberty hit me like a truck.” Fareeha didn’t turn her gaze away from the lake. “I wonder if I still know how to do this.” She gave a few hesitant steps on the ice.

“Be careful.” Angela was watching her with a little bit of worry, although she hoped that nothing bad would happen.

Fareeha didn’t have skates, so she did her best to slide on the ice a few feet at the time. First to her right, then to her left. She tried to do a small twirl but ended up just turning around, facing Angela. Nonetheless her friend clapped, mostly at the fact that she didn’t fall on her ass and Fareeha blushed a little.

Not wanting to run out of luck, Fareeha decided that it was enough goofing around and gave a step forward to get off of the frozen lake. That’s when the ice broke under her feet. Angela saw the face of instant regret Fareeha made a moment before she fell into the water.

Fareeha was almost at the edge of the lake, so the water only reached her up to her chest. However, the freezing temperatures almost made her collapse, but Angela had already run to her side to help her get out of there. In the end Fareeha got out of the water with little effort, but she was practically soaked, while Angela had her upper body drenched and both of them were trembling.

“M-M-My ap-apart… ment…” Angela managed to say.

Fareeha’s teeth were chattering too much, so she just nodded. She picked up her bag and followed Angela as fast as she could.

~ ~ ~

As soon as they entered the apartment, Angela led Fareeha to the bathroom. “T-T-Take off you c-clothes and dry yourself w-with this.” She handed Fareeha a body towel. “Leave them on t-the floor and then come to the couch.” And with that, Angela closed the door, leaving a dumbfounded Fareeha with a blush that went unnoticed.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she talked to herself. “Surely s-s-she meant in my undies, right? Not completely n-n-naked?” Her chattering teeth took her out of her stupor, so she undressed completely and dried herself as best as she could. She took out another set of underwear from her duffle bag, wore it and then put the towel over her shoulders, covering herself as best as she could.

Fareeha exited the bathroom with hesitant steps and made her way to the couch. Angela had moved it so it would be right in front of the small gas fireplace. Fareeha sat and a moment later Angela appeared from her bedroom, carrying a bundle of thick blankets. Fareeha’s heart skipped a beat because for a second she thought Angela was nude under the towel she was covered with. Sadly Thankfully that wasn’t the case, her friend was in the same state of undress as her.

Angela placed the blankets next to Fareeha. “Cover yourself up.”

Fareeha did as she was told, removing the wet towel first and putting it on the floor. Angela checked the logs that were in the fireplace and then she pressed the ignition button beside it, turning the control knob to release the gas. The logs caught fire and Angela gave a step back, giving a nod of approval a moment later.

With the fire lit, Fareeha felt better even though she was still shivering. Then she turned to Angela, who dropped her towel on the floor and Fareeha felt her stomach lurch. Her eyes couldn’t help but give a quick peek at Angela’s body and one word appeared in her mind: Perfect. “W-What are you doing? Were y-y-you as wet as me?”

“No, but this way we’ll warm up faster, especially you.” Without hesitation, Angela lifted one end of the blanket, sat next to Fareeha and covered herself with said blanket. Now Fareeha’s stomach was giving somersaults. “Would you put an arm around me? I’d do it to you but you’re way taller than me.” Angela said with a small pout. Fareeha thought that Angela was adorable and complied with the request.

When Fareeha first started her journey to meet her best friend —and longtime crush— after not seeing her for three years, the last thing she expected was to share a blanket with her while both were practically naked… and yet here she was, cuddling with her.

“This is very relaxing, you know?” Angela said, watching the fire, stopping Fareeha’s musings. “I mean, not the whole getting soaked in the frozen lake thing, but being here with you, warming up in front of the fireplace.”

Fareeha didn’t trust her voice at that moment, so she just squeezed Angela’s shoulder gently.

“And your face when you realized you had messed up.” Angela was giggling. “I mean, I feel bad that you fell into the lake, but in hindsight your expression was really funny.” She started laughing and it was contagious, because Fareeha was laughing alongside her in no time.

When they calmed down, Angela turned around and examined Fareeha’s face, the latter feeling the color rising to her cheeks. “Uh…”

“The color’s returning to you, that’s good. And you have stopped shivering.” Angela returned to her original position on the couch. “But you’re still cold.”

Fareeha saw Angela with the deepest fondness. “Thank you for putting up with me, I don’t know what would happen to me if you weren’t in my life.”

“You probably would have drowned in 5 feet of cold water.” Angela said teasingly and Fareeha snorted.

“You’re probably right.”

After that they sat in comfortable silence, the whole situation a soothing one for both of them.

Fareeha’s mind wandered. She thought that being almost naked beside Angela would be very uncomfortable for her, given the crush she developed a long time ago, but that wasn’t the case. After her heart calmed down a bit, Fareeha realized that this felt completely natural for them, if Angela’s content face was anything to go by.

Fareeha thought again for the nth time if confessing her feelings would be ok or not. The reason she hadn’t done so was mostly because they lived very different lives, and their responsibilities were always in the way. But that was the path each of them had willingly chosen.

Angela nodded off and Fareeha instinctively pulled her closer. Angela rested her head on Fareeha’s chest and seemed to doze off. Without being able to stop her hand, Fareeha caressed Angela’s cheek, which apparently, for some reason, caused the latter to press her head harder to Fareeha’s chest. Fareeha’s body stiffened, not sure if she had done something wrong because clearly Angela wasn’t sleeping yet.

After a few seconds Angela raised her head, looking with curiosity at her friend’s face. “I wasn’t imagining things, you were blushing earlier, like you are now.”

Fareeha’s stared at Angela wide-eyed, her mouth trying to form words that her brain refused to think, making her stutter softly.

Angela lowered her head and pressed her ear against Fareeha’s chest again. “Your heart is beating even faster now.” She stopped listening and turned to look intently at her friend. “Do you like me, Fareeha?”

Fareeha’s mouth went dry and she gulped. She was about to panic, but then she put attention to Angela’s eyes. They were soft, tender, and Fareeha knew above all that Angela would be understanding, even if her feelings were not corresponded. Besides, her heart had already betrayed her, so it was no use in denying it.

Fareeha started whispering. It was as if she wanted to exclude the world, her words only meant for Angela. “I like you a lot, you have no idea. I’ve had the biggest crush on you for a long time.”

Angela raised her eyebrows slightly. “Since when?”

“Honestly I cannot remember. I was but a kid and I thought that it would go away as time went by, but it never did.”

“Longer than mine then.”

“Yes, prob—” Fareeha couldn’t finish her sentence, she just looked surprised at how Angela smiled at her.

“I like you a lot too.” Angela moved carefully, trying not to drop the blanket. She straddled Fareeha and placed her hands around her neck. Fareeha put her hands on Angela’s hips, relishing the sensation of being able to hold her like this. “Now that we know that we like each other, I’d very much like to kiss you, is that ok?”

Fareeha nodded slowly, as if she didn’t believe what was happening. She was pretty sure she drowned in the lake and was now in the hospital, hallucinating all of this. But Angela’s lips proved her wrong.

Fareeha closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her stomach in acrobatics at this point, her heart racing. The kiss was soft and slow, as if they were meeting each other all over again, but more intimately this time. After an eternity that wasn’t long enough for Fareeha, Angela broke the kiss, but only because she needed to breathe.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for years now.” A flirty smile appeared on Angela’s face. “But it was worth the wait and we can do it again.”

Angela leaned down for another kiss but Fareeha placed a finger on her lips, stopping her. Angela blinked twice, confused. “I’ve been dreaming for so long about this, you have no idea. But I need to know, is this a one time thing? Do we make out the entire week and then return to our responsibilities as if nothing happened? Or do we try to have a relationship, a real one?”

“You tell me, Fareeha. We have just acted on this lengthy crush, what do you think is the next step?” Angela asked teasingly.

Fareeha’s smile reached her eyes. “We make it work.”

“Yes. Even if the world’s getting weirder, even with your work with Helix and mine in the Middle East, we will find a way to make it work. Besides…” Angela leaned closer to whisper in Fareeha’s ear. “…you look so good in that underwear.”

Fareeha blushed, self-conscious again of their current situation. “What can I say? It’s made of girlfriend material.” She said with a huge grin.

Despite her best effort, Angela laughed at the pun. “Ok, that one’s on me. I walked right into it.”

“I think I need some time to process this. Like, we’re girlfriends now and…”

Angela looked quizzically at Fareeha. “And?”

“Maybe if we keep making out, my brain can take in all this. What do you say, doctor?” Fareeha asked, teasingly.

“Smooth.” Was Angela’s only reply.

Fareeha closed the distance and kissed Angela. Their hands wandered leisurely, feeling goosebumps on each other, despite not being cold anymore.

Fareeha was standing in the middle of what she guessed was the living room. To her left was a couch big enough for four or five people, in front of her was a coffee table and to her right was a piece of furniture that may or may not have had a holo screen on top of it some time ago. On the far end of the apartment to her right was a kitchenette, and next to it to the left was a closed door that Fareeha assumed led to Angela’s bedroom.

What made Fareeha swear was the fact that everything was covered in clothes and books and academic papers: the floor, the couch, the coffee table, half of the kitchenette… there was a bookshelf on the corner of the living room literally made of books. She turned to her friend and half asked, half whined. “Why?”

Angela was slightly embarrassed but she answered. “Since rejoining Overwatch, we’ve been traveling all over the world, I barely have time to live in my apartment, but you know that wherever we are, I’m always trying to make progress with my nanobiotechnolgy research. I come by some books, I print some papers because it’s easier to read a hard copy than stare at a holo screen, and the clothes… I actually have no excuse for them. When I am exhausted, I just arrive home and toss them around.”

“But we joined Overwatch only six months ago?” Fareeha looked at Angela in disbelief, at which the latter only shrugged. Yes, this disaster only took six months to happen. Fareeha returned her attention to the living room, scratching the back of her neck as she thought how was the best way to start sorting this out. “You owe me more than one dinner, Ziegler.”

“You mean you’ll stay and help?” Angela asked, surprised.

“Sure, who would I be if I abandon you to this.” Fareeha gestured vaguely with her arm at the living room. “But I really doubt we will finish today, this will take all weekend.”

Angela gave Fareeha a quick hug. “Thank you! I promise I will make it up to you.”

Color rose to Fareeha’s cheeks but she was confident that her dark complexion would hide it from Angela. “O-Ok, let’s do this.”

~ ~ ~

After hours of sorting through all of Angela’s mess, both women were done for the day. They only took small breaks here and there, but they pushed hard to get the majority of the work finished today, which they did. Now they were sitting at the kitchenette’s counter after devouring a large pizza, Angela drinking a cup of hot chocolate and Fareeha dozing off.

Fareeha blinked quickly a few times and stood up. “I should probably get going.”

Angela finished her chocolate and put the cup on the counter. “Don’t be silly, you’re exhausted and you need to rest. The hotel isn’t close and it’s late.” She stood up and grabbed Fareeha’s hand, taking her to the living room. “You will stay the night. You can have the bed and I’ll have the…” Angela trailed off. She saw that the boxes where they had been packing the books and the academic papers where on top and around the couch, the only other place to sleep. Angela’s mood turned from cheerful to hesitant.

“What is it?” Fareeha asked before yawning.

“Actually, do you mind if we… if we share the bed?” Angela’s voice was almost a whisper, but her friend listened to her clearly nonetheless.

Fareeha opened her eyes wide, her drowsiness disappearing in a second. She wanted to say ‘I’d love to’ but her brain stopped her from a possible disaster, after all she was sure that her crush on the doctor was not mutual. “I don’t want to impose, I—”

“Nonsense.” Angela turned around to look at her friend. “You’re my best friend. I insist.”

Angela was using an authoritative tone, the one everyone in Overwatch knew as the doctor voice. This meant that Fareeha had lost the fight already. The latter just gulped and muttered softly. “Ok.”

The doctor beamed and took Fareeha to her bedroom. “Don’t worry, I have a big bed and I don’t hog the sheets.”

Fareeha had already seen Angela’s bedroom —she had to go through it to reach the bathroom— but she hadn’t paid much attention to it aside from the fact that it wasn’t a war zone like the rest of the apartment, focused as she was on helping Angela. She now noticed that indeed Angela’s bed was huge, which for some reason disappointed her a little.

Angela opened a drawer of the dresser by the bed and pulled out some colorful clothes. She handed them to Fareeha. “I don’t think they are long enough for you, but I’m sure they will at least fit you.”

Fareeha took the clothes and realized that they were pajamas… ducklings print pajamas. She couldn’t help but smile at Angela’s taste in clothing. “Thank—” Fareeha’s mouth went dry as she looked how Angela removed the hair tie from her head, letting her hair fall loose.

“I’m going to brush my hair in the bathroom.” Angela brushed her hair with her fingers a few times to get rid of a few knots. “So change your clothes and go to bed. I won’t take long but you shouldn’t worry about me, what you need is a good night sleep.” Angela smiled before heading to the bathroom, leaving a flustered Fareeha standing in the middle of the room.

After a few seconds Fareeha managed to think again and heeded her friend’s advice. She undressed until she was left only wearing panties, a bra and a white tank top. She put on only the PJ’s pants and looked herself in the mirror hanging on the bathroom’s door. The pants were short for her but aside from that they were very comfortable and Fareeha could only snicker at Angela’s choice for sleepwear.

She folded neatly her clothes and put them on top of the dresser, then she laid down on one side of the bed. A moment later panic rose inside her. How was she going to be able to sleep with Angela by her side?

~ ~ ~

Angela finished brushing her hair and exited the bathroom. “Did the pajamas fit you?” She asked when she saw Fareeha lying down on the bed, but when the latter didn’t answer, Angela realized that her friend was sound asleep.

She sat down beside her and caressed her cheek. “You look so peaceful right now.” Fareeha didn’t stir by Angela’s words or touch, which meant that she was out cold, the day’s work had really exhausted her. Angela contemplated her friend for a while, adoration in her eyes. “I promise I won’t be so shy next time.” She leaned down and placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth, all the while blushing a bright red.

Making sure that Fareeha was indeed asleep, Angela let out a deep sigh and stood up. She still needed to change into her sleepwear and brush her teeth before joining Fareeha in bed.

~ ~ ~

When Fareeha woke up, she did so feeling fully rested. She stretched and that’s when she felt an arm around her waist, trying to pull her to her right. She turned her head and suddenly remembered that she didn’t stay at the hotel last night. Angela was sleeping on her side, her hair covering half of her face, her right arm casually placed on top of Fareeha’s stomach.

Fareeha would have freaked out a little bit if not for the fact that Angela was still sleeping. Instead, she enjoyed their shared warmth and let her mind wander over how their bodies would fit perfectly if they were to sleep closer to each other. It was a nice thought, one Fareeha entertained until Angela woke up a few minutes later, removing her arm and apparently oblivious that she had side hugged Fareeha in the middle of the night.

“Good morning, Angie.” Fareeha said with fondness.

“Morning.” Angela sat up, yawned and looked at Fareeha, a smile forming on her lips. “Hope you slept well.”

“I did. I wasn’t expecting to fall asleep like that, but I guess I may have overexerted myself a little yesterday.” Fareeha shrugged.

“Well, thanks to you we are almost finished.” Angela left the bed and stretched, giving Fareeha a better view of her pajamas.

Fareeha snorted. “You must really like ducklings.” She gestured at her pajamas.

Angela looked at her and then turned her attention to herself. “They are really cute, don’t you think so?”

“Yes, they are.” Fareeha left the bed too. “We can finish today, but I need to do a quick run to the hotel and get a shower and a change of clothes. I can also grab us breakfast on my way back, what do you think?” Fareeha made that last suggestion remembering there was nothing to eat in the apartment.

“Sounds good.” Angela answered.

Fareeha grabbed her clothes and made her way to the bathroom. “Let me change and I’ll go do all that.”

“Take your time.” Angela replied as she headed for the kitchenette.

After using the bathroom and changing her clothes, Fareeha was ready to go to the hotel. She exited the bathroom and licked her lips, freezing on the spot. She licked her lips again and there was no mistake. Fareeha recalled the previous evening and even though she was tired then, she did remember she only had pizza and chamomile tea for dinner.

She left the bedroom and found Angela preparing some hot chocolate for herself. Then everything made sense and she almost said ‘fuck’. “I-I-I… I’m going to… to the hotel now.” Fareeha said.

“Sure. Are you feeling ok? You seem a little distracted.” Angela said, taking a sip of her cup.

“Yeah, yes, yeah! Just still a little sleepy.” Fareeha avoided carefully the boxes that crossed her path. “I won’t take lips— long! I won’t take long.” And she left the apartment.

Fareeha made her way fast downstairs while she once again licked her lips, this time as if she were a child trying to taste all the ice cream that they had unintentionally spread all around their mouth. Even though the taste was fading, Fareeha was sure it was chocolate.

~ ~ ~

Almost an hour later, Fareeha returned to Angela’s apartment with bread rolls for breakfast.

Fareeha was sure that when she was asleep Angela had kissed her, and given the amount of chocolate she tasted on the corner of her lips, she was also sure that the kiss was deliberately placed there, it wasn’t an accident. Now the only problem was that she didn’t know what to do next, so she kept helping Angela just like the day before.

They chatted as they usually did, but this time Fareeha was paying extra attention to everything Angela did, and she noticed a few things: whenever she made Angela laugh, the sound would be a little bit livelier than when she laughed with someone else. And the way she looked at her… Fareeha wasn’t sure but she hoped guessed it was adoration? Was that how she looked at Angie? And if so, how come they hadn’t realized how the other one felt for them?

But there was also doubt in Fareeha’s mind. What if her crush got so bad she started imagining all these things? What if it was her brain giving her false hope? Lost in thought, she groaned internally when Angela interrupted her musings.

“This is the last one!” Angela cheered, closing the box and taping it. She turned to Fareeha. “I know I’ve asked much of you and I know we have to take these boxes to the warehouse later, but can you help me with one last thing?”

“Sure, what is it?” Fareeha asked.

“You probably noticed that I have too many clothes.” Angela said apologetically.

“Just enough to cover all of your apartment.” Fareeha replied with a grin.

“Yes, exactly that. Can you help me decide which clothes I keep and which ones I donate? Everything’s in my room and it will be fast.”

“No problem.”

They went to the bedroom and Fareeha saw that there were two boxes on the floor, both marked with big bold letters. One said KEEP and the other one DONATE.

Angela made her way to the mountain of clothes that were on her bed to start choosing what to keep when she heard Fareeha’s muffled voice. “Do you want to keep this?”

Angela turned around and saw Fareeha sitting on the floor, the KEEP box covering her head and upper body. The doctor couldn’t help but laugh. She made her way towards her friend and lifted the box, revealing a smiling Fareeha. “Of course I want to keep you, but you don’t have to go in the box.” She mirrored her friend’s smile.

Fareeha realized that Angela was a little too close to her, but she didn’t mind. Instead she lifted her arm, caressing her friend’s face, choosing to stop doubting herself. Angela didn’t move away from the touch, but confusion crossed her face. “Fareeha?”

Fareeha leaned closer and stole a kiss from Angela, a kiss that caught her by surprise, judging by her stiff body and the sharp inhale of breath.

You met her at school. When you saw her for the first time she was chatting with her friends in the hallway. You couldn’t help yourself and you ogled her as if there was no tomorrow, and realized too late that she noticed your stare. You turned beet red and tried to go away, but your feet were stuck to the floor as she walked towards you, a playful smirk on her face—one that you’d see over and over again in the weeks to come. She approached you slowly, and you realized she was doing it on purpose because she was checking you out; any word of apology vanished from your mind.

“Do you like what you see?” She asked and you opened your mouth but no words came out. Feeling you couldn’t lie to this woman, you just nodded. Her smirk only grew wider. “Good. I like what I see too.” She then closed the distance between both of you and whispered in your ear. “Would you like me to fuck you?”

You couldn’t believe what you just heard. This must be a fucking dream, you thought. You didn’t know what to say, you forgot how to speak, thinking it must be a joke, but you looked at her and instantly knew this woman wasn’t messing around, she was dead serious with her proposal. Again, you just nodded, unable to do anything else.

“Perfect. I’ll see you at the front gate in 10 minutes.” She leaned up and kissed you on the corner of your mouth, and you could feel her smiling. She turned around and went on her way, never once looking back at you.

Those 10 minutes felt like an eternity to you. You were trying to understand what just happened and you were sure it was just some kind of prank. You didn’t get your hopes up for… whatever this was, but still you showed up at the front gate, and sure enough she was already waiting for you. She took your hand and led you away from the school, towards her place. The walk was short and quiet, she didn’t want to talk and you didn’t know what to say. Once you arrived, she asked you if you were okay with this, and you took your time to think about it and she never rushed you for an answer, she waited patiently. You debated with yourself but in the end you took a step forward. “I am.” It’s the first thing you have said to her and you did it with conviction.

She grabbed your face and kissed you with passion, with need. You both kissed until your lungs burned, and when you broke apart from the kiss to catch your breath, she began undressing you with skill and haste, her lips marking your skin. A moment later and she undressed too, the quick glimpse you took of her made you shiver, but she didn’t let you contemplate her for too long. “You are supposed to feel, not to see.” She took you to her room and it was there that you got addicted to her. Her hands on your body, her lips on your neck, her fingers inside you. You felt like you were burning and you wished you could feel this way over and over, and your wish became true, in a way.

“My name is Cinder, by the way.” She told you while both of you were lying on the bed, exhausted.

“Riley.” You managed to say.

“Riley…” She began, and you loved how your name sounded when she said it. “…I am not looking for anything serious. This is what it is. I’m not kicking you out, but later you can go home and then we can pretend this never happened… or we can see each other whenever we have the time.”

Keep meeting her even if this wouldn’t lead to anything else, or not meeting her at all? The answer came easy for you. “I wanna keep seeing you.”

And once again there was that smirk on her face. You’d get to see it a lot in the coming weeks. She kissed you, but this time it was soft.

Cinder told you that this was a fling, that it wasn’t going to last. At first she was reserved about her life, but as time passed you got to know her better. You didn’t know when, but eventually you both met not only to go straight to her place or to a hotel, you started spending more time with each other. Weeks passed by and even if you didn’t know what this was, you thought it was going to last. You called yourself a fool this morning after Cinder’s phone call.

You stared at the ground while you fumbled with your phone, not sure what to do with your hands. The thought of not coming to the park crossed your mind, if this was a fling there was no need to see each other to end it, but you wanted to hear it from her. You wanted to see her when she called quits on it. On you.

Not one minute after the clock marked 4 o’clock, she sat next to you on the bench. You didn’t dare to look at her, but her voice requested your complete attention. “Riley?” You reluctantly raised your head, bracing yourself for what was about to come next.

“Hey.” It’s the only thing you could muster to say.

“Hey.” Cinder cleared her throat. “We have been seeing each other for some time now. I gotta admit that our time together has been great. To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting you to be so… feisty in bed, but you are full of surprises, apparently.” She paused here and you wondered if it was for her sake or for yours. “When I met you, I told you this was going to be a fling, and I wasn’t lying—”

That’s it, you thought, sure that you didn’t need to hear anything else she had to say; she already confirmed your fears. “I completely understand. Goodbye.” You said as calm as possible and stood up, trying to leave this place as soon as you could. But she grabbed your arm.

“Riley, let me finish what I have to say, please.” You turned around to look at her, and her eyes were pleading, which struck you as odd. Cinder always has had a confident air around her, never hesitating, always knowing what she wanted, so this was new. You thought you owed her at least this much, and sat back again. Cinder sighed and kept going. “I told you, that first night we spent together, that this was a fling, and it was the truth. I just wanted to have some fun. No responsibilities, no drama, no strings attached. That was the plan… and you fucked it up.”

“I what?” You were not sure what Cinder meant by that.

“This was supposed to last two or three weeks, a month at the most, but it’s been more than two months already. At first I said to myself that I was enjoying the sex a lot, that it would be a shame to say goodbye to you so soon. And I was almost honest with myself, almost. But you are… I don’t know.

“First I wanted to explore your body, discover all its secrets… and discovered them I did.” She said smugly. “But at some point I started craving not the sex, but your company. Your silly jokes, your awkwardness, your kindness, your warmth.” Cinder took your hand in hers and squeezed it. “What I mean to say is that I fell for you, and after giving much thought to it, I believe it’s not such a bad thing. So Riley, would you want to be my fuck buddy and my girlfriend?”

This was outrageous. More than two months of knowing her intimately and you still blushed when she mentioned the explicit nature of your relationship, and you were sure she mentioned the fuck buddy part just to get you flustered. Cinder was a huge tease and you loved that.

You smiled, straddled Cinder and leaned down, catching her lips with yours. You kissed her for a while, taking your time to enjoy the moment. Before you broke apart from the kiss, you tugged Cinder’s lower lip with your teeth. “Yes.”

Cinder smiled that smirk you loved so much. “I’m glad that you reciprocate my feelings, I wasn’t sure if you did.”

“So you mean that the always confident Cinder wasn’t sure of what to do?”

“Shut up. Don’t make me regret this.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You leaned down and made out with your girlfriend. This time it was different, though. Her kisses were passionate but they weren’t rushed. This time she knew she could enjoy you without fearing that it would be the last time to do so.