Work Text:
She had been sitting in the far corner of the library, with a mountain of books by her side while she quickly typing her assignment on her laptop. It was about the evolution of space crafts, what materials were used, and how they had progressively gotten better, and why. It was her job to connect the dots.
Ryder was almost consumed by the work, loving every new little detail about it that she found out, and kept growing more impressed about the scientists and engineers before her that connected everything and figured it out through trial and error. They had shaped an important part of their knowledge hungry society.
Then, out of the blue, she had appeared, tapping on her shoulder. And by she, Ryder meant a gorgeous women she didn’t know the name of. She was tall and had this hard, neutral yet confident expression on her face that almost caused her to forget to breathe. This had not been what she had expected when she looked up at the person that wanted to have her attention. She was a bit intimidating and hard to read.
“He...hey.” she mouthed, doing her best to appear calm.
“Hi.” the woman answered. “It’s full almost everywhere. Can I sit down with you?”
“Of course. My name’s Ryder by the way, engineering. I mean, I’m an engineer major.”
She nodded and sat down with her books.
“Thank you. I’m Vetra, and I’m a major in physical science. I don’t think I have seen you around, are you new?”
Ryder couldn’t tell if she kept talking to be polite or if she genuinely wanted to know, her voice was neutral. But she just shook her head to answer.
“Actually no. I usually sit on the second floor, but today it was full.”
“Okay, I see.”
The study session had taken an hour, and the two women had quickly went their separate ways, nothing more with that. And life continued like normal, until Ryder once again ran into Vetra on campus, as they both waited in line at a coffee shop.
“Ryder, hello.”
The moment she heard her voice, she was as smitten as the first time, and bit her lip with joy thinking about it, while clutching the book she was holding closer to her chest.
“Vetra, hey. What are you doing here?”
“Well, I’m buying coffee. I’m pretty sure that was obvious. How are you doing?”
Ryder had to fight the urge to sigh in embarrassment from asking what Vetra was doing in a coffee shop, and actually managed to not do it. Instead, she did her best to smile, tilting her head upwards to look into her eyes. Still so serious, mysterious and playful at the same time. There were countless of secrets hiding in that look, she knew it.
“I’m doing great. My project is coming together really well. How about you?”
“Great. I’m a week before schedule, lot of crunching. What’s that book you’re holding?”
“Oh, it’s a sci-fi novel, space. I love those.”
“Then, how about you tell me more about it once we’ve gotten our coffee?”
They exchanged numbers, and occasionally met each other again and again, the weeks between meetings kept growing shorter and shorter each time, and the more formal meetings in public had been swapped for sitting on the couch in Ryder’s flat, sharing a bottle of scotch.
The sort of tense body language and carefully chosen words had disappeared, as the personal walls had fallen and a friendly trust instead began to grow. Ryder felt so comfortable with Vetra, especially when the interesting woman switched her cold exterior for a happy and cheerful woman with an amazing sense of humor, that also still managed to be just the right amount of intimidating.
“And that’s the story of how my twin brother got me suspended for a week when I was still in high school.” she said, smiling as she heard the laughter coming from Vetra. The story had been really embarrassing, and few people knew it. Now Vetra was one of them.
“That’s hilarious. Your dynamic really reminds me of me and Sid, my sister.”
“Oh? Was there any school shenanigans as well?”
She saw how Vetra shook her head, still laughing, before taking another sip of the strong liquor.
“Nope. I went to military school for four years, Sid went an all girls boarding school. We did wreck some havoc at home though, trust me on that one. Firework incidents, a broken wall, painting the bedroom ceiling slime green without permission. Us having a cat as a secret pet for an entire summer without anyone noticing. Those were good times.”
“Sounds like it. I bet it was you who initiated everything.”
Vetra’s laugh clinged in the air once again, and Ryder felt a playful punch on her shoulder as it continued. She felt how her cheeks heated up. Seeing Vetra just laugh and be open was an amazing sight. Over the times they had met, she realized that she had gotten familiar with her body language, picking up the tiny clues. From what she could tell, Vetra was relaxed, happy and having a good time. And she was too.
“Shut up. I might have been bad, but I was not that bad. It was all her.”
“And why, dear Vetra, should I believe that?”
“Hey, I’m the one supposed to do the teasing.”
“Vetra, do you like me?”
Ryder had been laying in Vetra’s couch as the end credits of a random romcom they had chosen from Netflix was playing in the background. They had shared a bowl of popcorn, and gotten a little too close for just a pair of friends. Vetra had initiated it, and as they had watched the movie practically sitting in each other’s laps, Ryder brain went haywire, trying to figure out what they relationship actually was.
“Of course I like you. Isn’t that obvious?”
“No, I mean. Do you like me? I’m having a hard time figuring out your signals. Are they friendly or romantic?”
She felt how her heart was about to stop from just asking the question to her. And for a few seconds, Vetra was quiet. Then she answered.
“What do you want it to be?”
Ryder couldn’t answer, the way Vetra has said it made her body tense up in a hopeful nervousness. All she could do was to look her in the eyes and nod. Even though nod wasn’t an answer.
“Okay, let me rephrase that and be more direct. Do you want to to kiss you?”
“Yes.”
Before she knew it, Vetra’s gentle hands were cupping her cheeks. She leaned closer, and Ryder closed her eyes, living in the moment. Their lips met, only for a second, but it was a second filled with so much meaning and feelings all over the place. She had never felt like this ago.
When they parted, both couldn’t help but laugh, huge smiles on their faces as Vetra pulled Ryder closer into a warm embrace.
“Are you really sure your parents will like me?” Vetra asked as she put down a few sweaters into her suitcase. “I mean, I’m pretty weird, and the first girl you’ve ever brought home. I know they know that you’re bi, but still. I’m pretty nervous.”
“Vetra, trust me. They will love you, because I do. Now hurry up, we can’t miss our flight.”