Work Text:
“They’re already getting along, huh? Good to hear!”
Nadie offered a grin and an apologetic wave to the other two women at the table, signaling that she’d be done with her phone call soon. “I gotta go, babe. Tell ‘em auntie Nadie says good night. Yep. Mm-hmm. I love you too, honey. See ya tonight.”
She snapped her phone closed and grabbed her drink, raising it to acknowledge the other two. “Sounds Like Lirio and Laetitia are having quite the evening together.”
“That’s nice... Auntie Nadie,” Madlax smirked. “You two are real cute with each other, huh? When’s the wedding?”
Nadie laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I mean, we’ve talked about it and all, but we haven’t set a date or anything…”
“Holy shit, I was kidding.”
Mireille just sipped her drink, watching the two younger women banter back and forth. When she interjected, her voice was as impassive as ever.
“How long have you two been together, Nadie?”
“Oh, uh...like…” Nadie thought for a moment, counting on her fingers. “Almost a year, I think? Maybe a little more? Something like that.”
“And already talking about marriage? You don’t think that’s moving a bit too quickly?”
“I meeeeaaannnnn…” Nadie grinned. “When it’s right, it’s right, y’know? Plus, her love for me was so strong that it brought me back from the dead, so…”
Mireille’s eyes widened slightly, but otherwise managed to retain her calm demeanor. “Well, well. I suppose that would have a bit of an impact.”
“There’s definitely some pretty major lovey dovey stuff involved with coming back from the dead, for sure,” Madlax chimed in. “I mean, my princess did that and it’s been great for our relationship.”
“Your princess? ” Nadie chuckled. “Isn’t she, like, ten years older than you?”
“Yes, and I’m her prince. It makes sense.”
“All right, man. As long as you’re happy.”
“What about you, Mireille?” Madlax asked, taking a sip of her drink and trying her best not to grimace at the taste. “Your girl ever come back to life?”
“Not as far as I’m aware, no. Contrary to what you two might imagine, that isn’t exactly a common occurrence when it comes to relationships.” Mireille rubbed her chin, mumbling to herself in a quieter voice. “Although, if we were to find a way, then I suppose…”
It was Nadie’s turn to be surprised, cocking an eyebrow at Mireille and taking another swig of her drink. “What, you’d want to do that?”
“Not me, no, but I believe my Kirika might enjoy the experience.”
“I, uh...I wouldn’t recommend it. Dying isn’t very fun.”
“Vanessa said the same thing. I mean, she still holds it against Limelda. Can you believe it?” Madlax scoffed. “It was one time .”
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Back up.” Nadie put down her drink. “Limelda killed Vanessa?”
“Oh yeah. Have I seriously not mentioned that before? It was a whole thing. I’m pretty sure she was aiming for me, but still. Shot her dead right there and then. It’s fine though. She got better.”
“If she’s fine now, then I don’t see the harm in that,” Mireille shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve never dated a woman who killed my loved ones before. I’m sure you’re the same way, Nadie.”
“Wh...no? Are you saying Kirika killed someone close to you?”
“Oh, yes. Multiple, in fact. You lost your family too, didn’t you? I assumed Ellis played some role in that.”
“No!” Nadie yelped. “Why would you think that?”
Mireille closed her eyes and took another sip of her wine, swirling it in her glass and mulling over the taste.
“Well, given our similar career paths and the fact that Kirika killed my family, it seemed like a fairly logical conclusion to draw.”
“She WHAT? ” Nadie almost spat out her beer.
“Killed my family. Was that not clear?”
“You’re...dating the woman who killed your family.”
“That’s right.”
Nadie gulped down the rest of her drink and put her head in her hands. “You’re dating the woman who killed your family. Madlax is dating the woman who killed the other woman she’s dating.”
Madlax and Mireille nodded in unison. Nadie just rubbed her temples.
“Waiter? Can I get another beer, please?”
And she’d thought magic was weird. These two were on another level.
“Is...is that why you thought it would be nice to kill her?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I’m over her killing them. I killed my only remaining family member to save her, so it balances out. It just seems like the sort of thing she’d enjoy,” Mireille smiled wistfully. “And a nice reminder of how we were when we first met.”
“Explain.”
Mireille closed her eyes, reminiscing about a weirdly nostalgic past. “The first day we met, I promised that I would kill her when this was all over. She was so excited about it!”
“Awww,” Madlax smiled, taking one more sip of her drink before pushing it away. So bitter! “Talk about a meet cute.”
“ How. Is that. A meet cute. ” Nadie forced the words out, struggling to wrap her head around anything these two were saying.
“Well, it was an instant connection, you know?” Madlax offered. “Kinda like how Limelda and I were drawn to each other the first time we had a shootout.”
“Okay. Back up. Have you both tried to kill your girlfriends when it wasn’t necessary?”
“Of course.”
“Just one of them. Vanessa and I have been pretty cool.”
Nadie sighed. “Well, that’s good at least. Good for you.”
“I must say,” Mireille added nonchalantly. “You and Ellis are impressively close for two women who’ve never had a gunfight before. How did that happen?”
“We...went on dates? Spent time together? Got closer during a road trip? Y’know, normal couple stuff?”
“How intriguing. That could be a decent method, I suppose,” Mireille mused. “I assume this took place over a few days?”
“What? No!” Nadie replied, almost yelling. “We spent a couple months getting to know each other before we realized we were in love! Y’know, like normal people!”
“Hey, man,” Madlax chided. “You don’t have to be rude about it.”
Nadie looked like she was about to burst. Madlax seemed baffled by her frustration, while Mireille just chuckled and finished her wine.
This was insane. They were insane. She was having a drink with two insane people. She was going to be working with two insane people. Kokopelli preserve her.
“Now then,” Mireille chimed. “More drinks?”
Nadie threw back her beer and chugged the whole thing in one go.
“As long as they’re willing to break out the hard stuff.”
By God, she was going to need it.