Chapter Text
"I still don't get rugby," Toni sighed, as she dragged her kit bag behind her on the ground, like a petulant child kicking their heels on the morning walk to school.
Her Crawdon RC uniform, hand-me-downs from Kahu who was of the exact same size (who would have guessed it?), was filthy, a testament to the amount of time during training she'd spent on the muddy floor. Her every joint ached from the tacklings, the thought of a piping hot shower and a hearty meal keeping her going on the walk home. Neither twin could drive, so they were forced to walk the two and a half miles back home, bones creaking.
Kahu huffed. The pair saw eye-to-eye on pretty much everything except sport. "What's not to get?" she exclaimed, her voice echoing over the hills. "You throw a ball, you catch it. You launch yourself at the other team when they have the ball." Toni gave her sister an impatient look. "Sure there's a whole bunch of rules in there somewhere, but that's all you gotta know know really."
The sarcastic gene in their biological family was resilient, a family who still remained pretty much unknown to the pair of them, save for a scrawled name on their adoption papers.
"See, why can't New Zealand be really into basketball?" Toni lamented as their house loomed in the distance, the poster advertising a 2-for-1 deal on Ghost Vapes coming into focus. "I'd crush it in this town then."
Kahu laughed, heartily. "Nah, you're saying you'd crush it with the ladies," she teased, patting Toni's shoulder. "Look, it's hard being in the shadow of two bonza athletes, I get it - "
"Now how are you getting any girls saying shit like 'bonza'?" Toni retorted. It genuinely bewildered her sometimes how Kahu had a higher success rate when it came to dating than she did.
"Sorry Miss 'Wears-Shorts-Everywhere-Cause-You-Can't-Contain-This-Flyness'," Kahu threw back.
"Fuck I hate you."
"It's what comes with having a big sis, you gotta learn to put up with the bullying. It's my duty."
"You're only older by like a few minutes!" she pointed out, haughtily. "And you bully Mitch too?"
"Yeah but who doesn't?"
Toni smiled to herself as they rounded up the path. For all the teasing, for all the sore limbs, for all the miles forced to trek, she wouldn't trade any of it. She had a family, a real one, for once. A family who loved and accepted her, and yes took the absolute piss out of her.
They cut through the back door to their house, chuckling about Tama's socks hanging on the clothes line, once pristine white now salmon pink. A slip-up in the washing, no doubt caused by Tama himself who was useless when it came to anything domestic. Or electric.
Mitch and Susan's voices spilled out of the living room, low and hushed, as though they were conspiring.
"Did you see that skirt she's wearing?" Mitch muttered, hands on her hips. "It's like, the Melbourne Open isn't for another few weeks love."
Susan hummed. "Does she know about the midges here? They'll rip them legs to shreds if she's not careful."
"And that hair? Jesus, there are Barbie's with duller hair."
"Like a horse's mane."
Both Kahu and Toni set their bags down at the same time, making the pair of them flinch.
"Uh mum, Mitch, who you's going on about?" Kahu asked, brow knitted.
"Not another character from that shitty soap surely," Toni grinned, quickly adding an apology to Susan - she knew that she didn't like swearing, and it was taking Toni a while to break the lifetime habit. "You know they're not real, right?"
"There's a customer in the dairy," Mitch told her, as sombre as though she was informing them an impending meteor headed their way.
"Fair goes," Kahu shrugged, then glanced between them all. She narrowed her eyes. "Why's nobody serving them? You want them to steal half the goods or what?"
"She's . . . she's foreign," Susan whispered, the word 'foreign' rolling off her tongue like a bad word.
"Jesus mum, you can't keep calling all the Aussie's foreign," Kahu sighed. "They're just like us deep down, just with shittier hair cuts." She paused. Toni's tendencies were rubbing off on her. "Sorry mum."
"Nah, she's one of your lot, Toni," Mitch said, shaking her head. "But weird."
"Weird how?" she asked, bemused.
"Talks funny," Susan chimed in. They were positively aflutter with whoever this customer was, a sign of small town customs. "I mean, we've gotten used to you now Toni, but Christ wasn't it hard work. This one, it's like she's speaking in tongues! Like one of them cowboy films you bloody colonisers can't get ya fill of!" Susan screwed her eyes shut, catching herself. "Sorry Toni, love, not you, I know you're one of us. I mean other Yanks. The gun-toting, backwards kind."
So this customer was American then. Explained a lot.
"Hey, um, is anyone back there? I'm lookin' for the oat milk."
Both Kahu and Toni shared a horrified expression. Oh she was really American. Southern, by the sounds of it. The two of them raced through the door to the dairy, where they found a lost looking girl, hair blonde like butter, tall and tanned, like an Amazonian. She was gorgeous, utterly and completely ethereal, in a denim mini skirt and white blouse. The brown and battered cowboy boots nearly tipped Toni over the edge - God who knew cowboy boots did it for her.
"You'll be looking a long time, we haven't got any oat milk here," Kahu piped up. The girl whipped her head around to face them, the shock at finding identical brunettes behind the counter written across her face. A face that left Toni speechless. "Or anywhere, not for at least a good few hundred miles."
"Ah, that's alright," she grinned. Fuck, even her smile was dazzling. "I'm not lactose intolerant or anythin', I'm just used to drinkin' it bein' from a big city and all."
"Don't go talking 'bout big cities around Mitch, you'll set her off," Kahu said, leaning across the counter. "Where you from? Let me guess, Sydney?"
Shelby laughed, a bewitching sound. Toni really needed to sit down. Everything about this girl was threatening to knock her off her feet. "Fort Worth, in Texas. It's just outside Dallas."
"That's the show with all the murder and big hair, right?"
"That's the one," she nodded. She stepped closer, twirling car keys around her fingers. "I'm Shelby."
"Kahu, and this is my sister, Toni, who's apparently forgotten how to talk."
Toni was more than happy for her sister to do all the talking, resigned instead to stand stock still in the hopes that she would blend into the shelf of vapes.
Shelby's gaze lingered on her for a moment or two. "Twins, right?"
"Nah we just might five minutes ago," Kahu joked, so straight-faced that Shelby almost fell for it. "Yeah, only pissing about, we're twins."
"We did only meet a year ago," Toni suddenly said, compelled by a need to let Shelby know she was there, that Kahu wasn't the only twin worth knowing.
"Oh, you're American too!" Shelby beamed, once again inching closer to the counter.
Oh fuck it was a mistake opening her mouth. Now she had to reply back. "Minnesota," she blurted, flatly.
"Nice," she nodded, taken aback by Toni's abrupt response. "Cold there."
Toni said nothing, an uncomfortable silence creeping in.
Kahu slapped her hand down on the table. "So, Shelby, what brings you to Crawdon, New Zealand's armpit? If you're looking for the Hobbits, you're in the wrong place." For all their similarities, Kahu had the self-assurance down lock, while Toni was still grappling with that.
"Never really got into all that Hobbit stuff." Shelby scrunched up her nose in a gesture that was entirely adorable, making a growing knot in Toni's chest tighten.
"Too nerdy?"
"Too scary," she shuddered. "I got a job down at Rory's ranch. Muckin' the horses, patchin' fences, birthin' lambs. All that glamourous shit, you know?"
Kahu chuckled. "Ah we know all about glamourous shit, if you can't tell," she gestured down at their muddy rugby kit. Once again Shelby's eyes raked over Toni, far longer than it did Kahu. "Listen, if you're not shovelling horse shit tonight why don't you come down the local pub. We can give you the Herewini's Guide to Crawdon if you like."
"Oh, I'm not twenty-one yet," Shelby said. "Not for another few months, anyway."
At this Toni snorted. Both Kahu and Shelby looked at her, and she wished instantly that the ground would swallow her up.
"It's New Zealand, Shelby, laws eighteen here," Kahu explained, patiently. "Besides, we got kids vaping at twelve, nobody's gonna ID you on the door."
"Then yeah that'd be great, thanks," Shelby said, her cheeks tinged only slightly pink at the embarrassment at getting it wrong. "Meet you at seven?"
"See ya then."
Shelby left, without her oat milk, and the twins watched her leave. It was quiet until the door closed, when Kahu burst into laughter.
"For somebody who doesn't usually shut up you were oddly quiet in front of that pretty girl," she taunted.
Toni's face burned. "Oh piss off."
-
"You know you gotta actually talk to Shelby tonight, right?" Kahu suddenly said, as they sat and tucked into their dinner in front of the TV. Susan and Carol were perched at the table, trawling through the compulsory bills, Mitch off writing in her bedroom.
Toni rolled her eyes. "Shut up, I'll talk to her."
"Like actual sentences, not one word grunts?"
This caught Tama and Lisa's attention. "Who's Shelby?"
"This Yank Toni's got a big fat crush on," Kahu announced to the room, who all turned to coo at her, as though she was thirteen and mooning over the girl who pulled her pigtails at school.
"Oh piss off Kahu, I don't have a crush on her," she grumbled, blushing furiously. She continued to heap boil-up on her fork, a meal she had initially turned her nose up at but had since come to crave, especially after harrowing rugby training sessions. Tonight was pork, prepared by Carol.
"Christ, it's a big one then," Lisa whistled. She leant forward, biting her lip. "Is she pretty?"
Both Toni and Kahu spoke at the same time. "Very."
"She's alright."
Toni tutted. "You're just saying that to be all cool," she muttered. "Any sane person with eyes would think she's pretty."
Another difference between the two twins was their taste in girls, evidently. "Nah, blonde and preppy isn't really my type."
Tama chuckled at them. "That's my type though," he chimed in. He turned to Toni, handing her an extra slice of bread. "If it goes south with Lisa get her to pop by, yeah?"
Taking the bread with gratitude - her appetite that night was particularly large - she winked. Tama was everything a big brother should be, everything she'd read about or seen on television, but never experienced before. Not until now.
"Watch yourself Tama," Lisa scolded, though knowing it was all in good humour. "Besides, who's to say this Shelby hasn't got a thing for the ladies?"
Kahu nodded enthusiastically, polishing off the boil-up with one final swipe of her bread across the plate. "Oh she definitely does. I saw the way she was checking out Toni in her rugby kit."
"So she likes the knobbly knees then?" Tama sighed. "Ah it would never work between us."
Everybody laughed, as Toni shook her head. "You're all assholes."
Kahu wrapped her arm around Toni's shoulder. "Ah, but we're family. Get used to it. Now, go get changed."
Looking down at her outfit - basketball shorts and a plain vest top - Toni frowned. "I'm wearing this."
It seemed that Kahu didn't approve, and neither did Tama and Lisa, who wore similar disparaging grimaces. "Oh like Hell you are. Go put on something . . . better."
"Susan, Carol, I'm fine like this right?"
A pause. The crickets outside roared, as though throwing in their two pence.
"What about that nice red top of yours love?"
-
Shelby was early. "Of course she's fucking early," Toni grumbled. She'd only had a couple of sips of her beer, having planned on being at least semi-drunk before holding a conversation with the blonde.
"Play nice," Kahu warned. She then smirked. "Or not, we don't know what she's into yet."
Toni blushed at the implication. She was certainly not drunk enough to entertain thoughts like that. "Yeah, she might not even be girls." She nodded towards the door, where Shelby was walking through. Jesus she looked good. "See, she's wearing fucking pink."
Kahu waved it off. "But it's a boilersuit, c'mon. If that girl's not a lesbian I'll eat Tama's sweaty sock."
"Or you can sell it on eBay," Toni suggested, taking a hefty swig from her glass. "That man's got an . . . intense fanbase."
Shelby spotted them amongst the sparse crowd - it was a Thursday after all. Her face lit up, as she joined them. She remained standing as she surveyed the table, at their half-full glasses.
"Hey ladies!" she greeted, warmly. It was strange to think she'd only met them a few hours prior. "What y'all drinking?"
"Coupla stubbies," Kahu answered, holding up her cup.
Shelby's mouth fell open to form a small 'o', as she turned to Toni for a translation.
"Even I didn't understand that," she said, with a shrug.
Kahu laughed. "Beers," she explained. "Cold ones. Toni, want to get Shelby a drink?"
Quickly, Shelby shook her head. "Oh no I can - "
"Sure," Toni interjected, getting to her feet. Buying a pretty girl was Flirting 101. "What do you, um, what do you want to drink?"
Shelby gave her a wide smile, her eyes glittering. "I'll take a stubby, please."
"Coming up," Toni replied, biting back a grin. It bothered how her cute she found Shelby saying 'stubby', as though had any clue what it meant.
She made her way towards the bar, where she found the locals all staring in the direction of the newcomer, speculating between themselves as to who she was and what business she had in Crawdon. They didn't get many visitors, with it being so remote. Toni was actually the last outsider, though they'd found it easier to accept her. She was Maori, and Kahu's twin, despite not sounding like either.
"That girls a looker, Toni," the barman said, polishing glasses. "New friend of yours?"
Toni didn't quite know how to answer that. "She's an American."
The barman groaned, as did many of the nosy patrons who'd been listening in. "Ah Jesus, we're being overrun by you bloody lot. It's like the Mayflower all over again."
"The Mayflower went to Australia," Toni pointed out.
"Ah you know what I meant," the barman grumbled. "Indigenous education's a fucking shambles in this country."
Toni sighed. "Yeah, yeah, it is everywhere. Can I get a Speights please."
"She don't look like a Speights drinker."
"Don't think you have White Claw so Speights it's going to have to be."
Toni carried the three beers back to the table, where Kahu and Shelby were getting along like a roaring house on fire.
"Thanks, Toni," Shelby said, voice like honey as she took the drink from her. Their fingertips brushed, and Toni begged she wasn't the only one who felt the electricity crackle between them. "Your sister was tellin' me you came to New Zealand just last year."
"Yeah, I uh found out I had a twin, that my family were Maori not Native American, so I came looking for her," she said, never quite knowing how to tell a story that was both long-winded and rather sad.
Kahu stepped in. She knew how Toni felt about her past, about everything leading up to them meeting. "Didn't bargain on us having two mums, eh."
"How come you two were separated, if that's not too personal?" Shelby inquired, gently.
"We were put up for adoption in Auckland," Kahu began, taking the lead. "My mum's didn't know we came as a set, and some American had already nabbed Toni. She moved over there, I moved down here, and well it's hard to say who drew the short straw."
Toni huffed. "Definitely me," she said, alcohol loosening her tongue. "I ended up in foster care and you got the famous rugby player for a brother."
"Yeah but I also got Mitch."
"Fair enough."
The two shared a grin that was both teasing and full of so much love. Love Toni hadn't known until she'd met her twin.
"Enough about us, what about you?" Kahu said, planting her chin in her hand. "Why a ranch in New Zealand?"
Toni wanted to know that too. "A girl like you should be in some sorority, dating the hottest, blondest football star."
"Yeah well, I was actually kicked out of home for bein' 'a girl like me'," Shelby said, with a sad, faraway smile. She took a drawn out gulp of beer before pressing on. "I'm a lesbian. My folks weren't too happy about it, said I was bringin' the Devil into their home. I stayed with my aunt for a bit out on a ranch in Texas, tryin' to make some money for myself to go college. I then realised that college was my daddy's plan for me, not mine, so I bought a one way ticket out here. Wanted to get as far away from everythin' as possible."
Whatever Toni had expected Shelby to say, it wasn't that. Her every fibre suddenly softened, then expanded until all Toni could feel was the overwhelming urge to hug Shelby, to wrap her arms around her and not let go until the knot in her chest (still there, still suffocating) dissipated.
"Well, you've certainly gone far enough," Kahu said, finding the right balance between humour and patience. "I'm sorry your parents are like that."
"Yeah, that sucks," Toni added, wanting to comfort the Texan any way she could, without giving away her feelings.
"I'll be alright," Shelby shrugged. She clearly hadn't envisioned dredging up her past over drinks with people she'd only just met, though it spoke to the ease with which she felt with them. "I love workin', and bein' with animals. Plus New Zealand is beautiful." She glanced across at Toni as she spoke, who can't help but blush.
Kahu let them have their little moment, watching the two like a hawk. "While Crawdon may seem like some backwards drongo town, it's anything but accepting here. I was raised by two mums who threw me a party and got me drunk when I first came out. I was fourteen. When we found out Toni was gay too, it was like my mum's had hit the jackpot."
"You're both gay?" Shelby spluttered. She threw this question to Toni, her lips curling into a bemused smile.
Toni buzzed, as she tried her best to remain calm. "Must be genetic."
"I don't know, there's nothin' gay in my family except me and my grandpa's love of John Wayne," Shelby said. "There is nothin' heterosexual about his shrine to him."
They all laughed, raucously. Kahu held up her glass, beginning a toast. "To being gay," she announced. They all clinked their glasses, cheering.
-
"My round ladies, what are y'all havin'?" Shelby asked, getting to her feet before the others could protest.
"Dealer's choice," Kahu said, then quickly added with a scowl; "Nothing fruity though."
Shelby winked. "Everythin' I do is fruity." She then sauntered to the bar, Toni utterly hypnotised by her.
Catching onto this - there wasn't much she didn't see - Kahu punched her in the arm. "When are you going to make your move Toni, you effing b?"
Rubbing her arm, a bruise undoubtedly already forming, Toni widened her eyes. "How am I supposed to tell if she likes me?" she bemoaned, whining like a preteen. "We don't really know her. Is she flirting or is that just how she is?"
"Well maybe flirt back! Jesus, you're supposed to be some slick player. You're as useless as a bucket full of holes."
Toni frowned. "Is that a NZ saying?"
"No it's just bloody common sense," Kahu hissed. "She's coming back, say something nice to her."
Shelby set down three tall pints of Old Mout Cider. Kiwi and lime flavour, Toni thought it was very cheeky of Shelby to have picked the fruitiest drink the Crawdon Arms served. Very cheeky, and very hot. She was clearly somebody who enjoyed winding others up.
Throat dry, the cider not helping at all, Toni thought of 'something nice' to say. Her eyes fell upon the headscarf she wore; pink and paisley. She'd thought it made her look like a sexy biker, though couldn't quite say that out loud. "Cool bandana Shelby. Very, uh, pink."
"Thanks," she replied, reaching up to pat it. She smiled back. "Wanted to make an effort tonight, you know?"
"Funny, so did Toni," Kahu said, earning her a kick under the table from her twin. "So, you got a girlfriend then, back in Texas?"
Fuck. Plying her with a few beers had erased all the subtlety she possessed, of which wasn't much.
Shelby licked her lips, chuckling a little. "No, no girlfriend." Toni was either delusional, or Shelby had actually glanced her way as she'd said that. "Not many lesbians out in Llano County."
"Used to be the same here, now look," Kahu replied, gesturing between them. "Lesbians account for at least a quarter of the population."
"That should be on the tourism poster," Shelby joked. "'Crawdon, land of the lesbians'." The three of them shared in a laugh, agreeing that it did have a ring to it. "So, the pub's great but what do y'all do for fun here?"
Toni held up her glass. "Drink, pretty much."
"There's rugby too," Kahu added.
Shelby hummed. "I've heard of that but don't think I really understand it."
"Come to one of our matches," Toni blurted out. Both Kahu and Shelby were staring at her, and Toni begged that her encroaching blush wasn't too obvious. "I mean, if you want." God, she was rambling now. "I'm not very good, but Kahu's pretty good."
"I'll be there," Shelby promised, emerald eyes bright.
Toni's couldn't stop her heart from bursting.