Chapter Text
"We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine."
— Eduardo Galeano
⁂
⁂⁂⁂
⁂⁂⁂⁂⁂
⁂⁂⁂
⁂
"Who was your first kiss?"
During the three weeks that have passed since that fateful day in the control core, Angel has been recuperating in Sanctuary's rundown hospital. Only through the tireless efforts of Maya's healing powers and Zed's surprising ability to work under pressure did she manage to survive being cut off from the eridium pumps. But since then, it's been thanks to Gaige that she's managed to keep her sanity. Since they saved her, Gaige has barely left Angel's bedside. They've spent the time talking about everything and nothing, from reminiscing about Gaige's parents to talking about Jack and how he was before Pandora and Elpis; from discussing potential upgrades for Deathtrap to their favorite ECHOsims.
"My first kiss?" Gaige glances down at her sneakers and chuckles. Angel raises an eyebrow. This is one of the few questions Gaige has balked at. "Billy Watson," she says, trying to hide a grin. "It was at my first sleepover."
"Aww," Angel coos, folding her arm under her head.
"I'd had a crush on him for the whole school year but I was just too afraid to say anything to him, you know? I didn't even know he'd be there. We were watching The Bloody Sixth, this really awful scary sci-fi movie. We were sitting on either side of my friend Kyleen, and she had a bowl of popcorn in her lap. So whenever he'd go to reach in..." Her face flushes a deep shade of crimson. "I'd reach in and our hands would touch, and I'd pretend like it was an accident. Except I did it, like, four times."
Angel lets out a cross between a giggle and a snort. "Subtle!"
Gaige presses her lips together, but it does little to hide the grin playing across her face. "Yeah, apparently I wasn't fooling anybody! That night, the boys and girls slept in separate rooms, but just before lights out, he knocked on our door, and when I went to answer it he just..." She folds her hands together in her lap, then makes a kissing sound.
Angel props herself up onto her elbow. "That was so sweet. Hey, totally unrelated, but do you know where Zed keeps the insulin?"
Gaige snorts. "Hilarious."
"No, it was cute. Really!"
"Yeah. Anyway, he moved away the next summer. Of course fourteen-year-old me was devastated. I barely left my room all week." She chuckles, the sparkle fading from her eyes, and the smile falling off her face. "It's funny how insignificant that seems now, you know? All those little things we used to worry about... how they just don't seem to matter as much?"
Angel frowns, studying Gaige's tired eyes. "Are you comparing a childhood crush to stopping alien monsters from destroying entire planets?"
"Well..." Gaige shrugs, then nods. "I mean, it's hard not to think about it, you know? Who knows what could've happened if we didn't stop the Warrior? Would Pandora have been enough for Jack? How many people get to stay out there, worrying about first kisses and student loans and wedding plans, because we were here, worrying about what would happen if we couldn't stop a world-destroying monster?"
"So..." Angel lies back and clears her throat. "You're saying, because you have some sort of responsibility to the galaxy, you don't have the right to worry about small stuff like that anymore?"
Gaige groans. "Of course it sounds stupid when you say it like that! I just–" She sighs and shakes her head. "Never mind. Forget I brought it up. Let's talk about something else."
"Something else, hmm?" Angel lets a knowing smile creep over her face. "Well, I was ready to tell you about my first kiss, but if you're not interested..."
Gaige leans forward in her chair, narrowing her curious eyes. "Wait, really? I thought..." She sighs and focuses on the dark circles under Angel's eyes. "I- I just thought you..." She shakes her head. "Never mind. Tell me all about it! Who was it? What were they like?"
Smiling, Angel looks straight into Gaige's eyes. "We were close. I didn't have many friends then, but she was one of those people I just felt like I could tell anything, you know?" Gaige nods, and Angel keeps their eyes locked together. "She was a really caring person. Always finding the silver lining on every cloud. I think that was what I liked the most about her. She always knew just what to say to cheer me up. And she had the most contagious smile.
They smile at each other, and Angel clears her throat. "I just remember being so nervous about it," she whispers, studying the look of rapt attention in Gaige's eyes. "Wondering if she wanted it as much as I did..."
Her green eyes light up, and just when Angel thinks she's caught on, Gaige asks, "What happened to her?"
"This."
She moves her hand to the back of Gaige's neck and pulls her in for a kiss. Gaige lets out a surprised squeal, then eases into their embrace. Angel trails her fingers over Gaige's cheek before slowly pulling apart, a demure smile on her lips. Gaige's jaw hangs open, her eyebrows arched. The look of surprise quickly fades as her lips curl into an open-mouthed grin. "Oh!"
Angel rests her cheek on her palm and smirks. "For somebody who's so smart, you really can be clueless sometimes." She looks down at the small space on the bed beside her, then pats it invitingly.
Gaige kicks off her sneakers and eases onto the bed. They lay their heads down on the pillow, looking into each other's eyes. Gaige rests a gentle hand on Angel's hip. "So?" She flashes a toothy grin. "How was that for a first kiss?"
Smiling, Angel slides her hand over Gaige's arm. "Good enough to make me want a second."