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Life was good. She had a strawberry daiquiri in hand, no unsightly bulge in the bottoms of her brand-new bikini, and was draped across an inner tube floating across the pool, Madeline was content. Even better, she was surrounded by evergreens, snow was lightly falling all around her, the sun was warm on her skin, and Mount Celeste loomed in the distance, a ring of clouds encircling just beneath the peak. Life was more than good; life was perfect.
Well, except for the shape that just started blocking out the sun for her.
Upon lowering her sunglasses, Madeline had no idea why she was surprised.
“Goooooooooood morning, bestie!” Badeline trilled.
“Ugh, why are you here?” Madeline asked, recoiling with mock disgust. Badeline was standing on the edge of the pool, bending at the waist so her face was looking straight down, right at Madeline’s.
“Shut up, you love me,” Badeline dismissed, still blocking Madeline’s sun. “And I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to your pool party! I’m hurt.”
“Good,” Madeline said, putting her sunglasses back on. “And that’s because it’s not a party. It’s just me, relaxing.”
“Then why’s Theo here? And why is he almost naked?” Badeline asked, pointing to the opposite end of the pool.
“What???” Madeline exclaimed, whipping her head around and ripping her shades off. Following where Badeline’s arm pointed, she saw her boyfriend sitting on the opposite edge of the pool, legs dangling into the water, wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts.
“Hey Strawberry,” he waved, before winking and blowing her a kiss. Madeline turned back to her doppelganger and pulled her closer.
“He was not there a minute ago,” she hissed, and Badeline shrugged.
“Well, he’s here now,” she replied, “so I dunno what you want from me.”
“Fuck you. You’re the worst,” Madeline groaned as she turned back away from her. “Hey babe?” she called out to Theo. “Could you go grab me a snack? I’ve been really craving that Thai place we had the other week.”
“Pfft, maybe you’re pregnant,” Badeline whispered, and Madeline slapped her shin (the only part of her body she could reach).
“Sure thing,” Theo answered, jumping to his feet and walking past the girls toward the house. “Later, you two,” he called, disappearing into a puff of smoke just inside the door.
“How could you do that to your own boyfriend?” Badeline asked, smiling down at the red-haired girl.
“Fuck off, I’ll see him again when I wake up,” Madeline told her, leaning back in her tube. “It’s not like we share a bed or anything.” Badeline made a face at the statement, pretending to gag.
“Gross,” she said, “too much information.”
“Shut up, you live my life just like I do,” Madeline said. As her inner tube started to drift away, she got a better view of Badeline as a whole. Surprisingly, her doppelganger wasn’t wearing a darker version of her own clothes, instead wearing a black and purple one-piece swimsuit that looked to leave a significant portion of her back open. Instead of the usual flowing locks, Badeline’s purple hair was tied back in a high ponytail, reminding Madeline of some video game characters from her childhood. Badeline seemed to notice her staring, as she struck a pose, showing off her modest cleavage as she did so.
“Like what you see?” Badeline asked teasingly. “Designed it myself. Hang on, I’ll give you a chance to see the back.” She spun on the spot and began to walk away from the pool, strutting like a model on a catwalk as she did so. Sure enough, the back of the suit was very open, for the most part covered only by a few crisscrossing straps. Her butt was surprisingly exposed though, far less fabric than Madeline felt comfortable wearing.
“Why would you do this?” Madeline asked as Badeline reached the end of her imaginary runway, spinning around and looking expectantly at her. “I didn’t need to see my own unimpressive ass.”
“You’re right,” Badeline said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder as she spoke. “You needed to see my unimpressive ass!” she added, making both girls bust out laughing after a beat of silence.
“You’re still the worst,” Madeline sighed, though her smile betrayed her actual feelings.
“Yeah, well, takes one to know one,” Badeline responded. Madeline watched as she dropped to all fours, stretching like a runner before a race. “Get ready,” she warned, and Madeline wondered what exactly that was supposed to mean.
“What are you–“ she started, but stopped abruptly when Badeline suddenly charged toward her at a full sprint. “No. Do not. Nononononononononono! Wait!” she cried, but it was no use. Badeline leapt from the edge of the pool, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them in a purple cannonball before she hit the water’s surface.
The resulting splash was like a tidal wave to Madeline. It definitely wasn’t realistic in its size, but that was to be expected (they were in Victoria but she could see Mount Celeste, it was snowing in July, and the least realistic part, she was cis, for God’s sake!). Madeline could only flail her limbs as her inner tube capsized, unceremoniously dumping her into the cold water and sending her drink flying. Scrambling to reorient herself, her head broke the surface of the water just in time to see Badeline’s do the same several feet away.
“I said, wait!” she growled, paddling back to the inner tube and clambering aboard.
“And I said get ready,” Badeline countered, sticking her tongue out as she treaded water. When she saw Madeline relax back in the inner tube, she swam over and draped her arms over one side, keeping next to the other girl as they gently floated along. “Sooo… is there a particular reason you’re dreaming about the Mountain?” she asked.
“Not that I can think of,” Madeline answered, pulling her sunglasses back down over her eyes and taking a sip of her piña colada. “Although that trip was such a big part of my life now. Like my whole relationship with you, it’s how I met Theo, even Granny and Mr. Oshiro. I don’t even know where my life would be right now if I hadn’t decided to climb the mountain.”
“That’s wild,” Badeline murmured. “And to think, after all that, you’re still an alcoholic.” She gestured to the glass in Madeline’s hand.
“I’m not an alcoholic,” Madeline groaned. “Just like you, this is virgin.”
“Low blow!” Badeline exclaimed, though she smiled. “But I don’t see how it’s my fault that I only have a physical body whenever you decide to visit one place only twice a year. And it’s not exactly like there’s a whole lot of single girls out there on the mountainside, either.”
“Fair enough.” Both girls floated in silence for a few minutes, the only sound the lapping of pool waves. Madeline took a long sip from her piña colada, staring up at the sky as they drifted. It was quite serene, actually; snow falling around the bright, warm sun. “Do you think that bird’s still up there?”
“What?” Badeline asked, looking at her with confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You remember that dumb bird, right?” Madeline replied. “Y’know, Granny’s bird. The one we– or I guess I – spent hours chasing around the moon. Do you think it’s still up there?” She extended one arm upward to point at the faint crescent moon hanging in the pale blue sky. “On the moon?” Badeline looked at her like she was crazy.
“Madeline. Maddie. Sweetie. My dearest sister-slash-self-slash-host. I love you.” Badeline took a deep breath. “But that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Oh fuck off, no one asked you.”
“You literally did! Just now!”
"I have no memory of that, fake news."
"You're such a bitch."
"Yeah, well, takes one to know one. And at least I used that phrase correctly."