Chapter Text
> Be Kanaya Maryam.
Your name is Kanaya Maryam, and you have just come to life.
The first thing you register is the press of lips against your own. Hers are chapped, bitten; you taste blood when she kisses you, and you are alive with the sweet heat of her breath in your mouth.
Memories flood back to you, all the memories of your time as a statue. You stood in the museum for decades before her, decades before those violet eyes came into your life.
But once they’re there, they linger. She’s there more often than she’s not, you swear, sitting in front of you on that bench, gazing up at you. She talks to you too, she speaks to you like you are a real person, she laughs and cries in front of you and tells you about her life. She tells you she loves you, and you don’t respond. You can’t respond, it’s more accurate to say.
But you don’t even need to think about it when you finally come back to life, don’t even need to consider it. You love her with your first breath, your first inhale and exhale and you just know.
KANAYA: Rose
KANAYA: I Love You
> Be Rose Lalonde.
You stumble backward and nearly fall off the plinth, but her arm wraps around your wrist and catches you. Her grip is warm, tender, and she is real.
KANAYA: Please Be Careful I Do Not Want You To Get Hurt
Your breath comes out in an incredulous laugh.
ROSE: You’re not.
ROSE: This isn’t.
ROSE: You are a statue. You aren’t alive.
KANAYA: I Would Not Have Thought So Either
KANAYA: However It Does Seem To Be The Case
She pulls you back onto the plinth, and wraps an arm tenderly around your waist. Her skin is warm against yours, she is human and nude and you have never been more in love with her. But there is no time for that -- you have questions, questions and worries and doubts, things you want answered, things you want to know. You blink, and your mind contains the world.
ROSE: This is impossible. Statues don’t come to life, and certainly not as the result of something as trivial as a kiss.
KANAYA: Yet I Seem Very Much Alive
The arm around your waist makes your head spin. She smells faintly like dust and old books, and your heart falls so fast and so hard it feels like you’re dying. Her dark hair tickles your cheek, she’s so close to you and you don’t know how you’ve survived before now without her.
ROSE: I don’t. I don’t understand. How is this.
ROSE: How.
ROSE: How can this be happening?
KANAYA: I Do Not Know
KANAYA: Does It Matter
ROSE: I. Yes.
You twist away from her and jump off the plinth, beginning to pace, running a hand through your short white locks. She watches you from her place standing on the plinth, amusement glinting in her eyes, but she does not speak.
ROSE: This doesn’t make sense. This doesn’t happen. You are a statue, you always have been-
KANAYA: I Know
ROSE: You’re a statue, that is what all of this has hinged upon, you are a statue and you are not alive and I have been in love with you for-
KANAYA: I Know
ROSE: This doesn’t-
KANAYA: Rose
She steps off the plinth, graceful like water, and catches your wrist in her grasp. Again, it’s warm. It shouldn’t surprise you, she’s clearly alive and breathing. So why does it?
She blinks for the first time, drawing your attention to her eyes. They’re green, brilliant jade with a fleck of brown in the left one. You think you could get lost in those eyes, had you the time -- and maybe you do have the time now, you think. Her skin is pale alabaster, just a few shades darker than the marble you’re so used to seeing, and there is a smudge of black lipstick on her lower lip where you kissed her.
Your head spins. You think you might faint.
KANAYA: Rose I Know This Must Be An Adjustment
ROSE: An adjustment?
You laugh, and it sounds cruel even to your own ears. But her face remains as serene as ever, and you don’t know whether you love or hate her for it. How can she be so nonchalant when she is standing in front of you, breathing and thinking and alive?
ROSE: Kanaya, you are breathing.
ROSE: You are a statue. Statues don’t breathe.
ROSE: How can you be so flippant about this?
Her eyes soften; her gaze warms.
KANAYA: You Remembered My Name
Your breath catches in your chest. Her name. Her name, yes, how could you ever forget it?
ROSE: Yes.
ROSE: Yes, I suppose I did. Did you think I wouldn’t; that is, that I wouldn’t remember the name of the woman I love?
Her eyes crinkle at the corners with a smile. Kind, she looks so kind and she’s beautiful when she smiles and you ache to hold her. She’s so lovely, does she know how lovely she is? She must. Someone took the time to sculpt this woman out of marble, took the hours, maybe years; it takes years for a piece like this.
KANAYA: You Talk To Me Quite A Lot Rose
KANAYA: Would You Let Me Try Talking To You For Once
KANAYA: Silly Girl
You swallow, and nod. You want to keep talking, ache to, but you don’t.
She seats herself on the bench, her legs crossed and angled off to the side. You sit beside her, still a respectable distance away, and wait for her to talk.
Her chest rises and falls once.
KANAYA: This Was Not Uncommon In My Time
KANAYA: Statues Coming To Life That Is
KANAYA: Well I Would Not Say It Was Common Either But That Does Not Matter
KANAYA: The Goddess Aphrodite Would Bless Loves Between Human And Statue Should She Decide They Were Pure Enough
KANAYA: I Am Sure You Have Heard A Couple Of The Stories
You nod slowly. She gives you a warm smile in return.
KANAYA: There Is Always A Little More Truth Than You Would Think To Those Myths
ROSE: You mean to say... the goddess Aphrodite chose to bless you? Us?
KANAYA: Well
Kanaya’s hand reaches out and wraps around yours, and this time you are not surprised when it is warm.
KANAYA: Do You Have A Better Explanation
ROSE: I...
You think for a moment and come up with nothing at all.
ROSE: I suppose I don’t.
ROSE: I feel there may be a few logistics to work out.
ROSE: Such as, to start, where you are going to stay for the night.
She tilts her head.
KANAYA: I Assumed I Would Stay With You
You were secretly hoping this would be the case, but you didn’t have the nerve to bring it up as an option yourself.
ROSE: Right. Yes, you can. Stay with me, that is.
ROSE: Kanaya, how do you plan on coming home with me when you are...
For the first time during this conversation, you take in her naked body. Despite your gaze on her, she does not seem to be self-conscious or shy about the fact that you can see every inch of her. Your eyes traverse her skin, and then you avert them. You don’t need to stare at her now.
Kanaya frowns like she cannot fathom what you could possibly be talking about.
KANAYA: When I Am What
You sigh, and keep your gaze on the ground in front of you.
ROSE: Well, you aren’t wearing much in the way of clothes.
She looks down at herself, as if just realizing she’s nude.
KANAYA: Oh
KANAYA: Yes I Am Not Quite Sure What To Do About That
KANAYA: Is It A Problem
You pinch the bridge of your nose in exasperation, but your lips curve into a smile despite your best efforts.
ROSE: Yes, Kanaya, it is a problem. People will stare, at best.
ROSE: Besides, it would probably be prudent to avoid as much questioning as possible. After all, the museum is missing a statue now, and you don’t have any sort of documentation proving that you belong here.
KANAYA: Right
KANAYA: Yes
You get the feeling she doesn’t particularly care.
KANAYA: When Can We Leave
KANAYA: I Am Eager To See The World As It Is Now
You exhale a laugh. It shouldn’t surprise you that she longs to see the world -- Kanaya seems, if oblivious, a curious soul -- but it makes your chest rise with endearment.
ROSE: I’m afraid you’ll be sorely disappointed.
ROSE: It’s not much to look at, and my living accommodations certainly aren’t either.
ROSE: If you truly have been listening to me talk about my life, you’ll know that I’m a student for the arts.
ROSE: My dormitory is small. I have a roommate.
Roommate. Roommate, yes. You should message Jade to let her know you’re bringing someone over. You pull out your phone, and Kanaya’s eyes follow it curiously. She must have seen you use your phone before, but she’s never seen it up close before.
-- tentacleTherapist [TT] started pestering gardenGnostic [GG]! --
TT: Jade, I should let you know that I’m bringing someone home.
You aren’t expecting her to respond right away, but your phone lights up with a notification almost immediately.
GG: oooo really???
GG: you should let me meet her!!!
GG: or them :B
GG: i can clean up the place while you are on your way!!!
TT: I’m afraid this is more of a personal matter, Jade.
TT: There’s a lot to explain, and hardly enough time to even start.
TT: Could you just do me the favor of making yourself scarce?
TT: I’ll make it up to you, I promise.
GG: hmm
GG: okay rose :B
GG: but you had better tell me everything once you get a chance!!! it sounds like something really big <3
GG: i will go hang out with nepeta for the night and i will be back tomorrow morning!!! we can discuss it then
TT: Thank you, Jade. You’re the best. I’ll explain it all to you tomorrow.
GG: you better!!
-- tentacleTherapist [TT] stopped pestering gardenGnostic [GG]! --
You tuck your phone back in your pocket to Kanaya’s curious stare.
ROSE: Alright. Let’s go.
You hesitate, then slide your coat off your shoulders and wrap it around hers. It’s cold out -- winter in New York is nothing to be trifled with. But you don’t mind; not as long as you’re with her.
She slides her arms into the coat and wraps it around herself, and you are both saddened and relieved that her modesty is now protected.
ROSE: I don’t like you going barefoot in New York, but this will have to do for now.
KANAYA: I Like This Coat
KANAYA: I Have Seen You Wear It Many Times
KANAYA: And It Smells Like Your Perfume
If you flush, she doesn’t let on that she notices.
ROSE: Come with me. We should leave before a security guard comes around. The night patrol is few and far between, but I don’t like taking risks I don’t have to take.
Hand in hand, you lead her out of the museum and into the New York streets.