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Beatrix wakes and for the first time in months, she barely feels the ache in her back. Each step until this point had shot a needle of pain up her spine, sitting uncomfortably in the middle. She had absolutely loathed the feeling. Not for the pain, no, she could bear the pain. It was the shame of letting herself be vulnerable, of letting Sebastian hurt her.
She bends forward. It was bearable. Just before she starts to test just how much it has improved, her phone pings several times.
She stretches and reaches over to her nightstand, checking to see who was texting her so early.
Her phone continues vibrating as the ‘Winx Club Chat’ notifications climb into the thirties. She groans. She’d agreed to join their little texting group because Stella had begged her, and had said she’d be able to bond better with them. If bonding was morning annoyance, she was practically overflowing with the sheer amount of it in her system.
She unlocks her phone and hits her fingers on the screen, typing out her message to them. She reads over it once. Yes, perfect. ‘Silence yourselves. It’s 7 am,’ she sends.
She drops her phone on the bed next to her and closes her eyes. It was a Saturday and sometimes she just needed to savour a few more hours before dealing with the waking world of Alfea.
Finally, silence fills her ears. She closes her eyes and allows herself the chance for extra sleep.
That is until a sound that wasn’t the pinging of her phone, has her eyes opening. Knuckles tap her door in that familiar pattern she and Stella had set. She grumbles and rolls out of bed. Stella was the only person who made the effort so worth it.
She pulls open her door and yawns, and sure enough, Stella is on the other side.
Stella’s eyes drift downwards and she bites her lip. ‘Good morning.’
Beatrix looks down at herself and realises what she’s wearing. She knew Stella was too polite to call her out on it, likely biting her lip to stop herself.
Beatrix smooths down her shirt when she realises how high it has risen from her movements. ‘Sorry, I’ll change.’ She waves Stella over to the couch sitting by the door to her suite. ‘Just give me a moment.’
She walks into her suite and closes the door behind her, feeling her face flush. If anyone else had looked at her that way, she’d have told them to mind their business. But ever since she’s started being friends with Stella, and tragically, the rest of the ‘Winx Club,’ she finds herself going on the attack far less.
She throws off her current clothes and picks out her favourite blouse and a pair of jeans. She brushes her hair once she realises just how much of a mess it is and can’t believe she’d answered her door looking like this.
Once she’s sure she looks more like a person and less like a tired disaster, she pushes open her suite door and greets Stella. ‘Now, what brings you to my suite at this awful hour?’
Stella taps her fingers against her knee and looks away. ‘Well, um…’
Beatrix sits down next to Stella and turns, resting her arm over the back of the chair. ‘You know, I don’t always look that rubbish in the morning.’
Stella leans back slightly her eyes fixating on the wall. ‘You never look rubbish.’
Beatrix smirks. ‘Careful princess, one might think you’re complimenting me.’
Stella squeezes her eyes shut and opens them again. ‘It am,’ she rushes out. ‘But, the real reason I’m here is to invite you to a spa day.’ She pulls two narrow slips of paper out of her pocket and fans them out between her fingers, showing Beatrix.
Beatrix looks between the two of them. Stella had wanted a spa day with just her. It seemed implausible. She hadn’t exactly done anything to earn the treatment. ‘Just two? I would have expected all of your friends would be invited to a princess spa day.’
Stella lifts the coupons, hiding her face behind them. ‘Well, I really just want to spend the day with you. I can spend time with them every other day.’
Beatrix smiles, placing her hand onto Stella’s, lowering it from her face. Why was she even debating it? She knew from the moment Stella asked her answer would be yes. She just… had to make sure Stella was making the right choice and picking the right friend. The others were better but if Stella was willing to settle for her, she was more than happy to take it. ‘I’d love to go.’
Stella reaches for one of Beatrix’s hands, leaning toward her on the couch. ‘You do? Really?’
Beatrix finds her eyes unconsciously falling to Stella’s lips. She swallows sharply. Because she enjoyed watching the words fall from Stella’s lips, nothing more. ‘I do,’ she confirms.
Stella leans even closer, her smile playful as she whispers in Beatrix’s ear, ‘Great, we have to be there in two hours.’
Beatrix blinks her eyes, trying to process both the proximity of Stella and what she was saying. ‘Two hours? Did you come in here knowing I would agree?’
Stella shrugs. ‘More like hoping I could win you over.’
Stella pushes herself off the couch and offers Beatrix her hand. ‘Shall we go? You don’t need anything but yourself.’
Beatrix accepts Stella’s hand and allows herself to be led. On the way there, Stella informs her that she’d already called for a car to take them to the spa. It was at moments like this that Beatrix realised just how much she appreciated having Stella in her life.
Stella’s newfound spontaneity and desire to just do things with Beatrix, even if it was studying for separate classes in the same room, was one of the few things that motivated Beatrix to try and heal. If only to experience more with her.
Stella leads her with a steady hand and a calm smile, nudging her across the back seat so they can sit side-by-side on the journey there. When Stella places her hand beside Beatrix’s, their pinkies grazing, Beatrix doesn’t pull away. She resolutely looks forward, though she knows the smile on her face was giving her away to Stella.
For some inexplicable reason, she craved being near Stella, adored her touch, and relished her smiles. So when Stella asks her to do something, really anything, she plays a game of almost answers that turn into a single yes.
They arrive at the spa an hour later, having only spoken a few words. Stella had admitted that it wasn’t one of the lavish Solarian spas but rather a quiet one she sought out when she wanted to truly relax. No one cared to know her status, and she never offered it, blending in with other visitors.
It’s only when they’re out of the car, Beatrix realises which one it is. She feels her lip wobble and her eyes water. ‘I remember this place.’
Stella reaches for one of her hands and squeezes it. ‘You’ve been here before?’
Beatrix laughs, her eyes wet. ‘It was Andreas, my father’s mission, to take me here at least once a month. He’d get me to try and mingle with the other children while he sought out a much-needed massage.’
Stella laughs with her, looking up at the sign and imagining a smaller, youthful Beatrix dragging Andreas along. ‘How’d that pan out?’
Beatrix snorts, tugging Stella to the door to enter. ‘I had the longest list of enemies of all of the spa guests. Aside from the owner, of course.’
Beatrix looks over at Stella and catches her rolling her eyes as she speaks. ‘Of course, I shouldn’t have expected anything less.’
Beatrix shrugs her shoulders and Stella walks up to the counter, handing the receptionist the two coupons. They’re led down a few halls before being pulled into a private room and each given a set of toiletries and robes.
There was a small screen situated against the wall behind them where Beatrix assumed they were supposed to get changed. She turns to Stella, ‘We can take tu-’ Her words are caught in her throat as Stella slides her jacket off, letting it fall to the floor.
Stella smiles as she begins to unbutton her shirt. ‘I figured since we’ll probably see each other like this it wouldn’t be an issue.’
Beatrix gulps. Calling it an issue was an understatement. Her eyes widen as Stella continues to unbutton her shirt and one of the sleeves slides off her arm. She seems utterly unbothered by Beatrix’s eyes still on her. Beatrix coughs and turns around. ‘Right, yes, I’ll just change.’
She pulls off her pants and shirt quickly and tugs the robe on. When she turns back around, Stella has already put hers on and tied it off at her stomach.
Beatrix takes a deep breath. What was that? She lets her eyes wander as Stella begins to walk. It was like Stella was taunting her with each touch and action she performed.
They walk over to two tables with women waiting. It has been some time since Beatrix’s last visit, and she had yet to experience it, but she was certain they were massage tables.
Beatrix bites her lip when Stella removes her robe to lie down on her stomach on the table. She copies the action and starts to wonder why she keeps having these feelings. Sure, she'd experienced what was close to this, but that feeling was… it was desire. She presses her face against the table. Her desire for Riven and Dane had felt similar but not quite as intense as whatever this was.
Stella had her stumbling around like a fool.
Before she can ruminate on what all of these feelings meant, she feels the first press of the woman’s hand against her back and sighs. Weeks or possibly years of tension and pain start to release. She should have come back here sooner but couldn’t. The thought of walking through those doors without Andreas had been too much to bear.
It’s like Stella senses her mood as she speaks. ‘The Solarian spas are terrible for this.’
Beatrix turns her head to face Stella as another press against her shoulders has her sighing. ‘For what?’
Stella snorts. ‘For actually making it feel like a massage instead of several pats to my back.’
Beatrix smirks, ‘Woe is the life of a princess.’
Stella sighs dramatically and stretches out of the table. ‘Woe is me and my tension-filled body.’
Beatrix should be paying attention to Stella’s face and only her face. She shouldn’t have even noticed the way she stretches out her body, or the way she seems to sigh at the pleasure of her muscles finally becoming uncoiled. She watches the way Stella’s chest rises and falls at a steady pace, completely at peace.
She pushes those thoughts out of her mind. It’s now been months of carefully reconstructed friendship and likely months of Stella finally being able to pursue someone worthy of her. Her not-brother Sky was certainly not it.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Stella questions.
You. That’s what she should say. I can’t look away from you, she should reiterate. Instead, she pushes a smirk on her face. ‘Thinking about how to create new enemies here.’
Stella laughs. ‘I can pretend to be one if it would make you happy.’
It would make her miserable, actually. ‘No, you’re fine the way you are.’
Stella smiles, closing her eyes as the masseuse releases her final knotted muscle. When the two women leave Stella sits up, her legs dangling off the edge of the table. ‘Shall we go to our next location? They said there’s a spa set up for us just around the corner.’
When Stella doesn’t pull her robe on and Beatrix raises a brow, she shrugs claiming she’d just take it off in a minute anyway.
Beatrix hangs her own loosely over her shoulders and follows. She had thought spa days were supposed to be relaxing. But, after having so much of Stella fill her gaze, she was starting to wonder if her heart was planning a trip out of her chest.
They enter the spa room with the pool situated in the middle. Jets of water pour out of faucets on the right-hand side, creating a constant but gentle current. Stella swings her robe over one of the chairs at the edge of it and begins her descent into the pool.
Beatrix’s brain may have short-circuited as she watches the water pool around Stella, starting at her knees and settling at her waist.
Stella pauses her journey and turns around. She reaches out, offering Beatrix her hand. ‘Are you coming?’
Beatrix can only nod, dropping her robe beside Stella’s. She accepts her hand and allows herself to be led into the pool.
They walk further in until the water sits close to their shoulders. She sighs as the warmth settles into her muscles, relaxing her further.
They sit against the edge of the pool on a small ledge and talk.
Stella leans back against the wall. ‘So, what exactly did you do here beyond terrorising youth?’
Beatrix hums, tilting her head to look at Stella. ‘They’d let me sit in pools just like this until my fingers pruned up and the water started to feel cold.’ She laughs as a memory enters her mind. ‘Andreas once had to chase me through the entire building because I refused to leave for his next mission. Even the staff gave me shortcuts to escape him.’
Stella laughs with her. ‘What did he do when he caught you?’
Beatrix smirks. ‘He didn’t. I made a deal that if he brought me three desserts I’d come out.’
Stella smiles. She rests her elbow on the edge of the pool and rests her cheek against her hand. ‘Let me guess, you won that battle?’
Beatrix nods. ‘He brought another four for himself and conceded that he would rather stay in a massage room than go on a mission too.’
Stella shifts closer, their sides brushing against each other. ‘I never knew that side of him. He always seemed so cold to Sky.’
Beatrix sighs. ‘Because he was cold for a while. When Rosalind returned, he barely had the time to speak to me, and when he did it was with hushed words and demands to comply with her.’
Stella removes her arm from the edge of the pool and rests her hand on Beatrix’s knee. ‘I’m sorry, Bea.’
Beatrix places her hand on top of Stella’s and ignores the enjoyment she gets out of such a basic action. ‘Don’t be. I’ll remember him for the man and the father he was to me. I’m slowly feeling at peace with the rest of it.’
Stella squeezes her hand. ‘Well, I’ll always be here to listen to more tales of youthful Beatrix.’ She pushes herself off the edge and swims to the middle of the pool. ‘Join me.’
Beatrix complies with a smile, swimming to her side. They spin around each other for a few minutes, neither saying a word. It was peaceful. Normally Beatrix would hate being this vulnerable with another person but Stella made the conversation feel as ordinary as talking about the weather.
Eventually, they pause their movements and move to the shallower side of the pool, standing in front of each other. It seemed Stella was equally as conflicted about leaving. Stella tugs her hand, pulling Beatrix closer against her, their chests grazing.
‘You’re being awfully touchy today,’ Beatrix comments, despite having no intent to pull away.
Stella’s fingers slide against her own under the water. ‘Is it bothering you?’
Beatrix looks down at them, the water distorting their appearance in the waves. ‘No. It’s just confusing me.’
Stella edges closer, intertwining their fingers. ‘Why?’
Beatrix frowns. ‘Because it almost seems like you want me to look at you, and I’m sure that’s my mind playing tricks on me.’
Stella’s other hand slides out of the water, lifting Beatrix’s chin so that they were looking at each other. ‘What if I did?’
‘I’d say this is an exceptionally well-developed dream.’
Stella smiles, her hand sliding from Beatrix’s chin to rest against her cheek. ‘What would you allow me in this dream?’
Beatrix lowers her eyes to Stella’s lips. ‘I wouldn’t be opposed to allowing a kiss.’
Stella smiles widely. ‘So you finally noticed?’
Her words break Beatrix out of her reverie. ‘Noticed what?’
Stella shakes her head with a smile. ‘Honestly, Beatrix, how much I’ve been flirting with you, and how the rooms are clearly couple rooms.’
Beatrix raises a brow. ‘That sounds like a date.’
Stella flushes, her fingers tapping against Beatrix’s. ‘If you would like it to be, yes.’
Would she? She doesn’t need to think about it for long. The answer is clear. ‘I would.’
Beatrix watches as Stella bounces in the water, unable to contain her happiness. ‘Could I kiss you?’
Beatrix leans in, a smirk on her face. ‘It wouldn’t feel quite like a date if you didn’t.’
That’s all the answer Stella needs. Before Beatrix can contemplate it, Stella’s soft lips are against her own, leading her through the kiss. She slides her hands through Stella’s hair, the ends damp from the water and kisses her deeply. Stella returns each press with her own urgent one, seeming to seek more the longer they kissed, with her hands roaming to Beatrix’s hips.
Beatrix smiles into the kiss and pulls away. ‘We should do spa days more often.’
Stella laughs. ‘At this spa?’
Beatrix hums, grazing her finger up Stella’s side. ‘It can be any. I’m flexible with where I make my enemies.’ She pauses her motion, her fingers resting just below Stella’s chest. ‘Lovers too, it seems.’
They kiss again and again, until their skin prunes and the staff come in telling them not to do anything indecent in their pool. Beatrix rolls her eyes and pulls Stella out, leading her to their next activity.
When she looks around, she sees reminders of Andreas everywhere. Some happy, and some sad. But in those gaps of sadness, a new memory of Stella fits right in.
She had expected today to be filled with her pressing snooze several times but was grateful she’d chosen this instead. More than anything, she was grateful for her second chance to be at Stella’s side.