Chapter Text
Beidou waves at the library windows and grins at the wave she gets back. At first she wasn’t sure about tutoring, but Kazuha turned out to be really nice. And desperate to save his history grade, the only subject she didn’t struggle in during her sophomore year. She gets extra credit for helping new students, so why not?
“Beidou!” She’s yanked into a half hug almost the exact second she turns around, seeing two blonde pigtails bouncing at her shoulder. She chuckles.
“Hey, Barbara.” She looks up. “And Jean, Mona.”
“Are you going to the pool as well?” Jean asks. Mona doesn’t move from her book, eyes flicking back and forth over the text. There’s a plastic barcode labeling it as from the library, and constellations decorating its spine. (She makes a mental note to ask about it sometime.)
“Yep, gonna race Ning again!” Mona finally glances up her, a smirk tugging on her lips.
“And check her out?” She turns to Barbara, page held with a finger. “I predicted this would happen last year when I first joined the club. You should’ve seen it.”
“And you pretend you don’t have a cupboard devoted to cup ramen, but everyone can tell.” She nudges Mona lightly on the shoulder. “You gotta get a better job.”
“It’s a good job!”
“Sure, sure… Speaking of work,” she says, zeroing in on Jean’s eyebags. “You aren’t planning on passing out by the pool again are you, Jean? We had to call Lisa from volleyball practice to take you home.” Jean has the courtesy to appear embarrassed, pulling at her ponytail sheepishly.
They continue with the banter, Beidou with an arm around Jean’s shoulder as she teases her overworked friend. Barbara seems excited when Beidou mentions her new role in the upcoming play, and talks about her own approaching concert, then Mona rants about her constantly absent astrology teacher.
When they finally get to the natatorium Beidou speedwalks into the locker room, wrangling out of her jacket and shoving her pants down. Jean rolls her eyes at the swimsuit underneath as Beidou tosses her clothes into her perpetually open locker and neglects the lock.
“We’ll meet you out there.”
That’s all Beidou needs before grabbing her goggles and pulling her hair into a bun, yanking on the rubber swim camp emblazoned with the school’s star crest. The pool deck’s tiles are cool when she sits down, putting her legs out in a V and reaching out.
Hold the stretch. One, two, three, four-
She yelps when there’s a light shove on her back and she slides forward.
“You’re early.” Ningguang smiles down at her, hair tucked neatly into a swim cap. Beidou reflexively touches her own as Ning joins her on the floor.
“Am I?”
“I suppose I should have expected it. Nothing can keep you from the water, after all.”
They stretch in silence for a couple minutes, Beidou in a solid plank. She distracts herself by watching Ning’s back muscles as she rolls her shoulders gracefully. God.
Finally, Beidou jumps up from her position and steps up on the starting block. Ningguang mimics her, bending at the waist to grip the edge of the platform as Beidou pulls on goggles.
“Go when the second hand hits twelve?”
Beidou turns as she speaks and locks eyes with Ning. It’s just her, Ning, and the water.
“As always.”
***
“Bard of a fucking shit shanty-“
Beidou blocks a fist then kicks the back of the attacker’s leg. They go down with a grunt and she knees them in the face, twisting around and punching another guy in the gut.
Archons, if she knew this is what she would have to deal with today she never would have left her dorm.
There’s blood in her mouth. Probably from when she bit her tongue from the first blow that hit her jaw hard and seemingly out of nowhere.
Her heel goes down on somebody’s toes. She full-body tackles one of them, elbows another’s ribs. One with a bad dye job jabs her in the stomach and she coughs before getting in a right hook, sending him to the floor.
The biggest one-the one with a shaved head and a solid uppercut-plows into her side, ramming her against the wall. It feels mildly like her brain’s rattling in her skull. Beidou knees him in the groin and he goes down, groaning.
She cracks her knuckles and turns right as the last guy comes rushing in, all metal rings and purple hair, and socks her in the face. He collapses almost instantly, howling and clutching his newly fractured hand.
Beidou winces at the twinge of a forming bruise on her abdomen as she clambers to her feet, reaching up to touch her brow. There’s liquid trailing down to her eye, and when she blinks there’s fuzzy drops of red clinging to her eyelashes.
Damn it.
Stitches are such a hassle.
***
Xinyan practically interrogates her about the incident that got seven kids expelled. Within half an hour she’s pretty sure no details have been spared to the people working backstage and Yun Jin’s considering writing an espionage themed storyline.
“Is that why you’re wearing an eyepatch?” Hu Tao points at the deep magenta covering her eye-and three stitches and a black eye.
“Eh, I just don’t wanna fall off the stage when performing. Gotta get used to it, you know?”
“Beidou?” Ning stands at the curtain, carrying a stack of ruffled fabric. “I didn’t know you were participating in the play.”
“Xinyan got me to be a pirate. Like my eye patch?” She stealthily smacks Xinyan on the back when she opens her mouth to say something, probably regarding the latest gossip.
“You make an attractive pirate, that’s for sure,” Ning responds. Venti, who’s working on a wall prop, fake gags out of the corner of Beidou’s eye.
“Are you going to the pool after this?” Ningguang asks.
Oh swashbuckling scavenger shit… Beidou laughs nervously. “I’m busy today.” Busy flopping on the couch and crying into the cushions, maybe. A week without swimming until the stitches are out is the equivalent to a miserable death to her. Like when Kazuha sprained his ankle and couldn’t run track for two months.
This is going to be a long week.
***
Backstage is bustling with cast and crew before the first showing. Beidou, however, is attempting to hide in the dressing rooms.
“Why didn’t you tell me Ning was on makeup?” she whispers to Yun Jin. The girl just rolls her eyes at her.
“Get over your gay panic and go out there already. She needs to apply your makeup before your scene.” She pushes Beidou out of the room to the line of lit mirrors where Ning sits applying eyeliner for Ayaka, who’s playing a palace guard.
“Oh, Beidou. Take a seat, I’m just finishing this up.” Beidou wants to tell her to take all the time in the world, because if she can’t stop time then time is clearly irrelevant.
Ningguang rolls her chair forwards, brushes between her fingers. She brushes Beidou’s hair away from the eyepatch it covers and pauses.
“Could you take this off? I don’t want to get primer on it.”
She was hoping to get away without Ning ever knowing about the fight, considering she doesn’t pay attention to idle gossip unless it benefits her, but Beidou gingerly takes it off. Ningguang gasps almost immediately, touching the bruise carefully.
“So you were in the fight that I heard about?” Beidou nods as Ning’s fingers trace down to her cheek. “Good job then. I heard people calling you ‘Boss Lady.’” She draws back to get her tools and Beidou’s mildly disappointed as she works in silence.
Then, as she’s finishing dabbing on the lipstick, she looks up and her hand pauses. “Break a leg out there, Pirate Lady. Wouldn’t want you to die before I get a chance to ask you out.”