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Jade is not entirely sure how it all began, and she’s certain that Kit doesn’t either. One day she’s waiting for a coffee cup to go and then Kit is pretending to be her girlfriend to get a man off Jade’s back, one that didn’t seem to like or take a no for an answer. He didn’t back off, of course not; he became annoying after a while, talking at them about how he would be the one to cure them. He even insisted that he was into threesomes, and just got away from them when their disgusted faces became too much for him.

While that is something that Jade can pinpoint happening a not-so-while ago, she’s sure that there have been other instances of them just pretending to be each other’s partners when uncomfortable with others. At some point, Jade thinks, they agreed on a signal, something inconspicuous that they could do in public and that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. They tried many things: hand movements, nose and ear scratches, tongue poking; but those never really stuck. It wasn’t until Kit realized that they both did the same gesture (scratch the back of their necks while avoiding eye contact) when uncomfortable that they figured out how to pull it off.

1

Jade

Kit and Jade have been best friends since they were in their second year of university; they shared a couple of classes together but, to the outside eye, it looked like they had known each other their whole lives. They spent almost every minute of every waking day together, so it didn’t come as a surprise when Kit arrived with Jade in tow to the birthday party some friends had organized for her and her twin brother, Airk.

“Happy biiiiiirthday to you! Happy biiiiiiirthday to you!” everyone sings as Lili brings out the biggest cake Jade has ever seen.

It’s not like Jade is not used to all of this, even after three years of participating in some of the most extravagant events Kit and Airk’s mom has organized. But it still surprises her when something as flashy as a six-floor cake comes out of nowhere. She decides to take a step back from the crowd, walking determinedly to the bar, ready to get something stronger than water in her system.

“Hey, d’you have dark beers?”

“Got Smoke and Dagger, Expedition Stout, Alaskan Smoked…”

“You got Ellie’s Brown?”

“That I do.”

After getting her can, Jade goes back to the table where she and Kit put their things. From here she can see Kit being hugged and tossed around as every person in the bar wishes her a happy birthday. Surprisingly, some of them have given her some gifts, although the favorite one for those has been Airk, who has two whole tables full of presents.

“Hey!” someone says to her ear, and it takes a second for Jade to not react to the person who said it.

She turns around to find a girl around her late teens smiling at her. She has never seen her, not even around campus, so Jade tries to do the polite thing and smile, turning away from her to focus on Kit, who has now disappeared from the crowd in the dance floor.

“I’m Madison.”

“Okay.”

“Are you Jade? I saw you enter with Kit. Are you?”

“Why?” This time, Jade does turn to look at her. If she guesses correctly, the girl –Madison– is around nineteen, and should not be at a bar at this time of night. Where are her parents?

“Nothing. I just wanted to know.”

Jade hums and lets her eyes roam the room. Kit is nowhere to be seen, and Airk is charming everybody in the dance floor with some moves she’s not sure are completely legal. The girl is still beside her, and Jade is starting to get uncomfortable with her closeness. As she stands up to get away from her, she reaches for her arm and Jade is frozen in place. Madison giggles and blushes, and even in the small lighting of the place, Jade can see the look in her eyes. It makes her shiver in disgust.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Madison says, getting closer and closer to her.

Jade tries to create some space between them as she scratches the back of her neck, and it works somehow. Madison tries to avoid getting elbowed, which means she has to take a step back.

“Come on, Jade, you know you want to get out of here with me.”

Jade blinks multiple times at her and knows that her face is showing just how horrified she is. This is a child for god’s sake. Jade is a good six, if not seven years older than her, how can she possibly think that Jade would be interested in her? She hasn’t even said more than three words to her in this whole conversation.

“Look, I think you have the wrong-.” She starts.

“Hey, I don’t think we know each other,” Kit’s voice comes out of nowhere, and Jade feels a hand grab hers. “I’m Kit Tanthalos.”

“I know.” Madison answers sarcastically. “Everybody here knows who you are.”

“And it seems that I don’t know you.”

“You wouldn’t. I’m just here because my cousin brought me.” Kit hums, and Jade can feel the way Kit’s posture changes. “We were in the middle of something, right, Ja-?”

“Well, it seems like you don’t know who you’re talking to, though.” Kit interrupts her. “Since you keep flirting with my girlfriend.”

Madison doesn’t even seem bashful at the comment, and Jade knows that it makes Kit angry, if the way she’s squeezing her hand says anything.

“Well, if I were you, I would keep a close eye on her, someone might come and take her from you.”

Kit snorts and says, “they can certainly try.”

Madison rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she grabs her bag and retreats from their table. They stay there, standing next to each other, holding hands, until they see her disappear into the crowd.

“You okay?” Kit asks, turning to look at her with worried eyes.

Once upon a time, Jade would have shaken Kit away and told her that of course she was okay, and that she could handle the situation herself without her interrupting. But the truth is that Jade was getting kind of tired of keeping herself at a distance from everybody, especially from Kit.

“No.” She starts. “Yeah.” She feels disgusted still, and she knows Kit can tell. “She was really creepy.”

“I could tell.” Kit grabs her and Jade’s backpack. “Wanna go somewhere else?”

“It’s your birthday party.”

“Meh, it’s more Airk’s than it’s mine. The only friend I have here is you. Not even Elora is here, and you know how I don’t really consider her my friend.”

Jade snorts, and ignores the comment because they both know that is a blatant lie.

“Alright, let’s go somewhere else then.”

“Yes!” Kit tugs her to the bar’s exit, and Jade lets her while taking a sip of her beer. “We are going to have so much fun tonight!”

Jade chuckles and tries very hard not to think about how they’re still holding hands.

2

Kit

The night Kit and Elora decided to share an apartment was a day they were both drunk out of their asses and made some poor decisions together. And see, that is saying something because Kit Tanthalos is re-known for holding her liquor, never mind that she had be drinking since 10 a.m.

Well, it’s not like it’s been a bad experience; surprisingly enough, Elora could cook, and Kit liked to keep things clean. They made a good team, really, it’s just that sometimes Kit’s not in a good mood and that ends up in her and Elora exchanging a big amount of colorful insults.

“I’m calling Jade. You’re insufferable!”

As Elora disappears into her room, Kit rolls her eyes. It’s not like Jade is the boss of her, and with the amount of times she calls her Highness, Kit would say it’s the other way around. But it’s okay, if Jade is coming, Kit can complain to her about how difficult living with Elora is.

“She’ll be here in 10!” Elora says from her room, and Kit decidedly does not go shower to wait for her.

Jade actually arrives in less than 10 minutes; Kit knows because she set a timer while she went to shower. When she gets out of her room, Elora is in the kitchen, getting some cake pans out of the oven.

“I need you guys to buy me some cocoa powder.”

“Why would we do that?” Kit asks, climbing on the counter and moving her legs.

“Because she’s baking your favorite chocolate cake,” Jade says.

For a second, Kit is confused. Jade walks to her, places herself in the middle of her legs and wraps her arms around her waist. Then, they go down, down, down, until they reach her ass. Kit feels like the air has left her body, feels like everything at this very second has stopped moving, and her heart is doing summersaults inside her ribcage.

Then, Jade lifts her from the counter and places her on the floor again. She turns around and walks towards Kit’s room.

“You’re lighter than you look,” she says as she comes back.

“You-.” Kit starts, still astonished. “You’re stronger than you look.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jade snorts and hands Kit her backpack, then walks towards the front door.

Kit turns around and finds Elora’s eyes as widen as hers.

“What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, but oh, my god.”

“Kit! We need to go!” Jade’s voice comes from outside and Kit hangs her backpack on her shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming!” as she says this, Kit turns to look at Elora again and opens her eyes widely, trying to convey her panic as best as she can.

Once outside, she notices that Jade is already inside the elevator, and is waiting for her with a neutral expression.

“Everything okay?”

“I should be asking you that,” Jade answers, “you’re the one who’s been snapping at Elora these past few days.”

Kit huffs and rolls her eyes as the doors close. They don’t say anything to each other for a while, and it’s not until they’re already on their way to the grocery store that Kit feels comfortable enough to talk.

“Mom called me.” She starts. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like…”

Jade stops the car at a red light and offers her hand to Kit. Kit takes her hand and interlocks their fingers together. She knows Jade won’t say anything until Kit is ready to talk, and that’s one of the most amazing things about her best friend. Still, sometimes Kit wishes Jade would fill in the silence with small talk than wait.

“Every time she calls me, I just. I revert to this 7-year-old little girl who just wants her mom’s approval. I can’t help myself. I do everything she asks me. Even if I huff and puff and act childish.”

“What did she want?”

Jade starts the car again but gives her hand back as soon as she can.

“She wants me to change majors.” Kit answers, leaning her head against the window. “She doesn’t care that this is my last year, said that there’s no point worrying about the money, that I should have been in International Relations all along.”

Jade parks the car outside the grocery store and turns it off, but neither of them makes a move to get out of the car. Kit knows that what Sorsha wants, Sorsha gets; it doesn’t really matter her own opinion about the situation. She also knows that, in the end, she’ll end up caving into her mother’s demands.

“Are you going to let her dictate your whole life?” Kit turns to look at Jade with glassy eyes. “I mean, what’s wrong with History? Why is it so important that you drop out and go into Relations? And why now? Didn’t you tell me that she would let you study whatever you wanted as long as you went into Law School after?”

“Yeah. She changed her mind for some reason. I talked to Airk about it yesterday,” Kit dries off her face and gets out of the car. Jade follows soon after. “He said that he’s going to find out what’s going on, but I don’t know how long that’s gonna take.”

“Look, we have until the end of the semester to figure it out. We’ll find a way.”

“What if we run away? Just you and I?”

“You know we can’t do that.”

Kit sighs and enters the grocery store while Jade grabs a cart. She knows that they come for cocoa powder, but it seems like Jade has other ideas about shopping. The scan each hall and grab multiple things, throwing them in the cart. It’s distracting enough that Kit stops thinking about Sorsha.

“Wait here, I’ll be back in a sec.”

Kit frowns as Jade disappears. She takes her phone out and starts scrolling through Twitter, checking if there are any updates on the creepy thread she was reading in the morning. Someone taps her shoulder, and she turns around expecting Jade. Her smile freezes for a second as she regains her composure.

“Kit Tanthalos, as I live and breathe.”

“Niamh! Hiiiiii.” Okay, so not very smooth of her.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do you do at a grocery store?”

She laughs and gives one of her most charming smiles, and she remembers Elora’s words from a lifetime ago “that girl with the lips and the face is going to hurt you, Kit”. And, boy, had she been right. Her senior year of high school had been shit.

“What are you doing here?” Kit asks, getting uncomfortable. “Last I heard, you were moving to Europe.”

“Keeping tabs on me, I see.”

“Oh, no.” Kit starts. “I saw it on…-.”

“I know you miss me.” Niamh interrupts. “That’s why I came back.”

“Um.”

“Hey, babe, thanks for waiting.” Jade appears out of nowhere, throwing Kit’s favorite snacks in the cart.

“Jade!” Kit turns around and mouths help me. “This is Niamh. You know how I talked about her? My ex from high school?”

“Oh, yeah!” She hadn’t. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jade, Kit’s current girlfriend.”

Niamh hums but shakes Jade’s hand, nonetheless. Jade throws her arm around Kit’s shoulder, and she relaxes a little bit, letting her handle the situation. In another life, Kit had been so ridiculously in love with the woman in front of her. She had been Airk’s girlfriend first, but when her brother inevitably moved on to someone else, Kit had been there to pick up the pieces. She should have known that that wasn’t the best start for a relationship.

“How long have you been together?” Niamh asks, all smiles and pleasant. Kit can see through her, though, and she hasn’t changed a bit. She’s waiting for one of them to slip up.

“Around two years,” Jade answers, nonchalant. “It was nice meeting you, Diam, but we need to get going. We have to take all of this home.”

“It’s Niamh, and you- live together?” she asks, surprised. “Sorsha let you live with your girlfriend?”

“Yep. Mom’s changed a lot.” The less Niamh knows about her, the better. “You’re right, love. We do need to go. I was promised cake, and I see you brought me plums.”

“Of course, I did. I know you love them.”

Kit turns around and starts pushing the cart away from Niamh, Jade in tow.

“The self-checkout is over there,” Jade tells her, putting a hand on her lower back.

It makes her think about earlier, and about how much she wants Jade to touch lower.

3

Kit

“Mrs. Hastur.”

“Please, call me Arianna. You were going to be my daughter in law after all.”

Kit chuckles softly and nods. Arianna Hastur is just as intimidating as her mom, but she also seems warmer than Sorsha could ever strike up to be. She certainly was a lot more open to listen to her son say he didn’t want an arranged marriage.

“Yeah,” Kit says with caution, “for some reason I think Graydon is happier now than if he’d ever been with me.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Kit. Sometimes arranged marriages work, sometimes they don’t. I’m just glad my son is happy.”

Kit knows a bit of the story between her and Mr. Hastur, her mom had used them as an example of a good arranged marriage; but the only thing that did was make Kit more against the idea. But it doesn’t matter now. Graydon is happily in love and dating Elora, and if his nervous looks throughout this whole event say anything, he might end up popping a question and a ring out of the pocket of his pants.

“How about you?” Arianna asks, and Kit hums questioningly. “Are you happy? Are you dating anyone right now?”

Kit was wondering when that question would come up. The last time this woman knew anything about her life, was when Graydon made the decision to call it all off. And although Kit is not sure if she knows why he did that, she does know that the gossip of Kit Tanthalos being a lesbian got spread like wildfire.

Years ago, when Kit was finishing her last year of high school, Sorsha had forced her to meet up with Graydon Hastur, the heir of Hastur Communications. She wanted Kit to accept an arranged marriage that would benefit both companies at the cost of her daughter’s freedom. The thing about that situation, though, was that Sorsha did not know Kit had been doing more than study with Airk’s ex-girlfriend, and finding out about it had not gone so well.

Like she said, she’s glad Graydon has a mom who thinks about his happiness and not just the benefits of their company.

“Yeah, I’m happy”, Kit tells her with a soft smile. “My uh-. My girlfriend is actually over there.”

And over there is Jade, talking to Graydon and Elora. She’s laughing at something Elora said, and she looks stunning.

“The one in the pink jumpsuit?” Arianna asks, curiously. “She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

Jade’s eyes find hers across the room, like she knows they’re talking about her. She smiles softly, and says something to Graydon. Then, she’s walking towards them. Kit takes a moment to panic and regret all of her life choices. She didn’t tell Jade that they would be pretending here. Fuck.

“Hey!”

“Jade! Love.” The pet name sounds incredibly weird coming out of her mouth like this. “This is Arianna Hastur. She’s Graydon’s mom.”

Jade stiffens for a second, something almost imperceptible, but Kit catches it nonetheless. Jade shows the fakest smile she has ever seen, and proceeds to offer her hand.

“It’s really nice to meet you. I’m Jade Claymore, Kit’s girlfriend.”

God, Kit loves this woman so much.

For a second, Kit ignores everything around her. Arianna and Jade are making small talk right beside her, and everyone in the room is doing one thing or another, but all Kit can think about is how true those six words are: she does love Jade. A lot. Maybe a little more than a lot. Okay, a lot more than a lot.

Fuck.

Oh, fuck.

“Kit?” she jumps and Jade snorts a laugh. “What was that?”

“I was thinking.”

Yeah, Jade cannot know about this. Ever.

“Don’t hurt yourself too much, babe.”

The way that Jade says the pet name drives Kit up the wall, like she’s placing a challenge on the table and she’s waiting for Kit to take the bait.

“You wound me, sweetheart.” Jade smirks. Oh, it is on. “My ideas are brilliant.”

“Are you sure, honey? Because what you just did will eventually reach your mom. And we still haven’t figured out what to do with the whole Relations thing, baby.

“You worry too much, sugar plum.”

That one elicits a laugh from Jade, and Kit gets a hand on her face for her troubles, but she’s not too bummed out about it. If it were up to her, she’d spend the rest of her life making Jade laugh like that, like she means it; like all she needs is Kit saying the right things and she’ll do it. God, Kit is so in love with her.

4

Kit and Jade

“I think I know how to help with your mom situation,” Jade tells Kit one afternoon, two months before the end of the semester. “But you’re not going to like it.”

“At this point, I’m willing to do anything.”

They’re sitting at the counter bar in Kit and Elora’s apartment, soon to be Kit and someone else’s because Elora is moving in with Graydon and Kit could not be any less desperate for a solution.

“Soooooo,” Jade starts, and she puts more whipping cream on Kit’s drink. “You know how my sister doesn’t like you at all?”

Kit frowns. Does she know, alright. Scorpia has always been somehow tolerable but only when Jade is around. When they’re alone, well, there’s definitely something terror inducing about her. She had done everything in her power to get Jade back when she turned eighteen, raising her little sister in the customs of their family, even if the two of them were the only ones left. Kit thought, before meeting her, that Jade’s sister was amazing; although from the first moment Scorpia had heard her last name, she hated Kit.

“Yes, I do know. And thank you for accepting it. Four years and this is the first time you ever say to my face that your sister hates me.”

“Hey, I didn’t say hate. I said she doesn’t like you.” Jade tries to cover her slip up, but there’s a smile on her face. “Focus, Kit.”

“Yeah, yeah. What does she have to do with my situa-.” It takes Kit a second. “No. Jade, no.”

“You said you were willing to do anything.” Jade tells her, sympathetically, “and this is all I can come up with in the time we have left.”

Kit sighs, and Jade offers up her hand. It’s not like Jade doesn’t know how Scorpia feels about Kit, or well, Kit’s family, but she also knows that Scorpia has come to realize that Kit is not her mom, and she is definitely not her dad either. Even if it’s difficult for her to accept it out loud.

“Look, if there’s someone or something my sister hates is your mom and Tir Asleen, and she’ll do anything to tear it apart.”

“Do I really want to tear apart my mom’s life work, though?” Kit retorts, and Jade shrugs. “Look, even if I don’t want to lead my mom’s company, I also don’t want to like, destroy everything she has worked for.”

“I understand.”

“Jade,” Kit grabs Jade’s hand before she can move it away. “I know how you and Scorpia feel about Tir Asleen, and I know my dad killed your dad. I hope you know this is not me defending my mother’s choices.”

“I know.” Jade tells her, squeezing Kit’s hand. “I just think it’s the best option we have right now, princess.”

Something in her tone makes Kit’s stomach flutter. It’s been a while since they’ve called each other any pet name, and while this one is new, Kit wants Jade to call her that for the rest of her life.

“Okay.” Kit tells her, smiles at her and squares up her shoulders. “I’ll hear her out.”

“Great! Because she’ll be arriving in like, five minutes.”

“WHAT!?”

Jade laughs as she gets off her chair and grabs a bag of Kit’s favorite plums from her backpack. Kit accepts them reluctantly and starts eating them immediately. Jade watches her as she eats and wonders how this amazing human being came into her life and became so important for her.

Four, even five years ago, Jade was a lot different than how she is right now; even Scorpia has told her so. When she was in her early twenties, she thought that being alone was always the better option. People hurt each other, that was something she’d learned from being in the system in her earlier years of life, and even if Scorpia had managed to get her back when she was six, the experience had been embedded in her.

Jade had convinced herself that living this way, at a distance from everyone, was the best way to protect herself from getting hurt by people. And then, one Wednesday afternoon, Kit Tanthalos had waltzed in in her classroom, and that promise to herself had jumped out of the fifth floor window soon after.

“Oh, by the way,” Jade says, after they hear a knock on the door. Kit seems panicked. “I told Scorpia we’re dating.”

“You did what!?” Kit says, grabbing her arm and not letting her go to open the door. “Why do you want her to hate me more!?”

“She doesn’t hate you, princess.” Jade tells her, and okay, maybe she knows what she’s doing with that pet name. “But I had to convince her to come here in the first place. It was the only way I could think she would agree to help you, if you were my girlfriend.”

Yeah, that makes Jade’s stomach flutter even more. They hear the doorbell this time, and they both jump.

“I’m coming!”

Kit hears the screams of glee as Scorpia and Jade greet each other. Kit takes a moment to recompose herself before getting out of the kitchen. Jade knows what she’s doing, Kit keeps telling herself.

“Scorpia, hi,” Kit starts, and the oldest Claymore ignores her.

“Scorpia.” Jade says, and her tone is dry.

“Ugh.” Scorpia turns around and rolls her eyes. She really is Jade’s sister. “Don’t think that just because you’re Moon’s girlfriend now, I am going to hate you any less.”

“Scorpia!”

“What?” Scorpia shrugs. “She knows I hate her. I don’t know why you keep lying to yourself.”

Jade sighs, rubs her hands against her face and looks up at the ceiling, she mouths something, and Kit is sure that it is “please give me strength.”

“Look, kiddo, Jade already filled me in about what’s happening, and I came up with at least three different solutions for your issue, but you need to be ready to possibly make this a legal matter.”

Jade sits on the couch next to Scorpia, and Kit is left standing there, shocked.

“Kit?” Jade gently grabs her hand, and tugs her until she’s sitting on the arm of the couch. “Hey, you don’t have to do anything.”

“No, no.” Kit shakes herself up and straights her posture. “Tell me.”

“Okay, so the first and most obvious option is getting disowned.” Scorpia jumps into lawyer mode. “Jade shared your grades with me and it’s enough for you to get a scholarship for your last semester, you have a job and even if your friend’s helped, you don’t receive any money from your mother to pay this apartment’s rent. Am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“So you could tell your mother that you refuse to do what she says at the cost of her disowning you.”

Kit feels like there’s a lump in her throat that’s making it impossible for her to swallow.

“What is option two?” Jade asks, grabbing Kit’s hand and lacing their fingers together.

“Option number two is suing your mom for blackmail.”

“Um.” Kit blinks multiple times at her, confused.

“Kit, your mom tried to force you into an arranged marriage using your brother as bait.” Jade tells her gently, and okay, yeah, she did. But blackmail? “She’s also putting you in a position where you’re essentially being blackmailed into doing what she wants.”

“Option three?” Kit asks, she feels the start of a panic attack down in her stomach. She doesn’t even want to think about it.

“Option three is just straight up telling her no.” Scorpia says, shrugging. “Which could end up becoming option one, really, but it could also be an option on its own.”

Yeah, Kit’s not so sure about this anymore. She just wants to live her life, work as a librarian or even as a teacher. She just wants to be a historian, for goodness’ sake. Why does it have to be so hard? Is it really worth it?

“I-. I think.” She starts, but the words don’t come out.

“Princess?” Jade says, worried, but her voice sounds far away. The living room walls feel like their closing around her, and she cannot be here anymore. “Kit.”

Kit stands up and walks away from them. For a moment, she doesn’t know where to go; the apartment feels full and overwhelming, but she doesn’t want to leave either. She ends up going inside the bathroom and locking herself in. She looks at herself in the mirror and sees that she’s sweating, her face looks pale and her eyes are bloodshot with unreleased tears.

“Kit,” she hears Jade from the other side of the door. “Kit, let me in.” She wants to, she really does, but she can’t make herself move towards the door. “Kit, I’m right here. I’m not leaving you.”

That elicits a sob out of her and it kind of helps ease the pain she feels right now. Forcing herself to do it, Kit opens the door and collapses against Jade, who hugs her tightly. Jade walks them into the bathroom again, closing the door with her foot and somehow manages to get them inside the bathtub. After a while, Kit stops crying; the pain inside her chest now feels numb, and her eyes hurt too much.

“I don’t wanna go with option two.” Kit says, rough and it almost sounds like a whisper.

“You don’t have to do anything, princess.”

“If I don’t do anything, I’ll end up dropping out and doing whatever my mom wants.”

Jade doesn’t answer, she knows that Kit is right. What she does is move her hand in a soothing caress against Kit’s back.

“Why can’t I just be a historian?” Kit asks Jade, retreating a bit from their position. “What is wrong with it? Why isn’t it enough. Why am I not enough?”

“You are enough, love. And I will continue telling you that for the rest of my life until you believe it.”

Kit’s eyes water up again. Jade has always believed in her, has always encouraged her, has been there for her; how can she not love this person? In a lapse of judgement that she will regret later, Kit kisses Jade. It’s short, and incredibly soft, and Kit feels like if she could kiss her forever, she’d be happy for the rest of her life.

“Um.”

“You’re a great friend.” Okay. Kit panics a little.

There’s a knock on the door and they both startle. “Kit, why is there a scary-looking lady in our living room?”

“Fuck, Elora.” Kit stands up and almost trips getting out of the tub. “Heeeeeeey.”

“Why is there a scary lady outside?” Elora asks again, “hi, Jade.”

“Hey.”

“Um, that’s Jade’s sister. She came here to help me with what’s going on with my mom.”

“Oh.” Elora’s eyes soften and she lets Kit get out of the bathroom. “Well, she’s been snickering with someone called Boorman for like, five minutes now.”

“Oh, fuck no.” Jade stands up from the tub and yells: “Scorpia, I hope you’re not talking to your stupid piece of an ex right now!”

“I’m not!” she answers from the living room and there’s a pause. “He’s not my ex anymore.”

“Scorpia!”

5

Jade

A phone is ringing somewhere in the room. Jade doesn’t know if it’s an alarm or a call; she doesn’t even recognize the ringtone. Her head hurts so much, there’s light in the room that should not be there, and the sound is making her regret every choice she’s ever made in her life.

“Mom?” A voice sounds, and it come from right beside her. Jade freezes for a second and turns around. “Mom?”

“You really thought I wouldn’t find out?”

The memories of last night come back in pieces. Elora moved in with Graydon and Jade ended up moving in with Kit, after seven different interviews that went horribly wrong. Last night they were celebrating the end of the semester, as well as Kit getting the scholarship. Jade might have had a little too much to drink.

“About what?”

Kit and Jade had come home and they ended up talking until the early hours of the morning, which resulted in them falling asleep in the same bed. God, Jade needs a cup of coffee.

“Seriously?” Sorsha’s voice come from the phone’s speaker, angrier than before. “About how you’re in a relationship with that Bone Reaver’s girl!”

Yeah, okay, that makes Jade sobber up quickly enough. She looks at Kit with her eyebrows raised. Kit gets out of bed, ignoring the look Jade gives her and disappears into the hallway. Jade takes a moment to process everything that’s happening. She did tell Kit that sooner or later her mom would find out about their pretense, and while she thought it would be sooner, the fact that Sorsha clearly is upset by the situation is both anxiety inducing and exciting.

Jade gets out of bed when the smell of coffee fills the apartment. She can’t understand what Kit is saying to her mom, but she’s determined to find out.

“Look, mom, I really don’t like the way you’re talking about Jade. She is my girlfriend and you really should accept that as a fact.”

“Kit, that girl is feeding you lies,” she hears Sorsha say as she fills her coffee cup. “She’s a Bone Reaver through and through, and you know what her sister has tried to do to Tir Asleen.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kit says, leaning her back against the fridge.

“So, you know why I don-.”

“I also know that you were the one who covered up dad’s tracks in that drunk driver accident, so no one knew he was the one who killed Jade’s dad.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I do know, though. I found the police record.” Kit sips her coffee a little and locks eyes with Jade. “I am not a historian for nothing.”

“You are not a historian.” Sorsha says, and Kit puts the coffee cup on the counter. “And you are not going to be one. You’re starting International Relations next semester.”

Kit takes a deep breath and Jade offers her hand. “No, I’m not.”

“What?”

“I am not going to study International Relations.”

“Yes, you are, and you’re going to stop seeing that girl.” Sorsha continues and Kit closes her eyes. “You will be the next president of Tir Asleen Co, whether you like it or not.”

“I will not, mom.” Kit says in a shuddering breath and Jade doesn’t know how much she can keep pretending that this isn't hurting her too. “I am going to finish my History degree, and I am going to find a job at a local library, or at a school, and I am going to life my own life.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying, Kathryn.”

“Don’t call me that.” Kit retorts, almost immediately. Jade squeezes her hand softly. “And I do know what I’m talking about. This is my life, and if I have to stop being a Tanthalos, then so be it.”

“Kit-.”

“Goodbye, mom.”

Kit hangs up and crumbles. They both end up on the floor, Jade holding Kit as she cries in her shoulder. She knows that there’s nothing she can say that will make Kit feel better about the situation, so she just holds her until Kit lets go. Jade rests her forehead against Kit’s and cups her face in between her hands.

“I am… so proud of you.”

“And I am so in love with you.” Kit answers, and that makes Jade blink a couple of times at her, then puts some distance.

“What?”

“What?”

“What did you just say?”

“That I am so proud of you.” Kit says, nervously, and stands up. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry. I’m gonna make some breakfast.”

“Kit.”

“What would you like?” Kit continues, opening the fridge door, “we have eggs, bacon, sausages, cheese. Oooh, I could make omelets. It’s obviously not going to be as phenomenal as Elora’s, but I did learn some things.”

“Kit.”

“Or! I could make scrambled eggs with sausages in them? I saw a video once about it and they looked delicious. I’m sure those could be an awesome breakf-.”

“Princess.” Jade grabs Kits hand and Kit stops moving. She doesn’t turn around, doesn’t say anything, and Jade feels her chest constrict. “I am, and have been for years, just so ridiculously in love with you.”

“You have?” Kit says, not daring to turn around.

“Yeah.”

“I do, you know.” Kit turns around, staring at the floor. “Love you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Then shut up and do something about it.”

+1

Jade

Jade hated her high school classmates. They were all just spoiled brats who were always displaying just how much money their parents had. She never really enjoyed the school she attended to, but Scorpia had insisted that their parents valued education, and Jade had gotten a scholarship; she could not let her brain go to waste.

She actually hasn’t thought about high school in a while, and the only reason she’s even contemplating those days is because she just received her ten year high school reunion invitation in the mail. How did they get her address, she doesn’t know, but it’s already decided that she will not go.

“Hey, what’s that?” Kit asks, dropping a kiss in her cheek. “Looks fancy.”

“High school reunion.” Jade gives Kit the invitation, and Kit takes it greedily. “They’re doing it back home.”

“Ooooh, I know this school. Mom wanted me to attend it when I got expelled.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh, yeah. Junior year of high school was a mess. My mom could get me back into that school again though.” Kit gives the invitation back. “Oh, we could have met each other way before than we did!”

“I don’t think I would have liked you that much, if that were the case.”

“Oh? You don’t think I could have charmed you with my attitude?”

“No, I don’t. Also, when you were in junior year, I had already graduated.”

“True.”

They don’t touch the subject again, not for a while at least. Jade forgets to throw the invitation in the trash, and Kit, ever the clean freak, puts it inside a drawer of the dresser they have by the entrance door. It’s not until Jade runs into an ex-classmate at a Target that she remembers the invitation.

“Claymore!” The woman says. There’s a baby strapped in her cart, and there’s a lot of groceries in it.

“Heeeey.” Jade doesn’t really remember her name, although she knows they graduated together.

“I’m Linda.” She says chuckling.

“Linda! Hi.” Linda was the one who sent the invitation. “How is life going?”

“It’s been good. How about you? I heard you’re working with your sister in the law firm.”

“Um.”

“My husband works with her.”

“Oh!” So that’s how she got her address. “Yeah, I’m working as a consultant, though, nothing more.”

She really needs to have a chat with Scorpia about boundaries.

“But that’s good, and I’m sure your sister loves seeing you.”

“Yeah, she does.”

“There you are, babe!” Kit appears and drops three bags of plums in the cart. “They launched a new flavor of plums!”

“That’s amazing, love.” Jade answers, and for a second she forgets they have company.

“Hi, I’m Kit.”

“Linda.”

“Nice to meet you.” Kit says, shaking the woman’s hand. “You know Jade?”

“Oh, yeah! We went to the same high school.”

“Really!?” Kit starts asking different questions about how Jade was in high school, laughing delightedly at the answers. “I cannot believe you hit someone to get a shuriken out of their arm!”

“Meh, it’s a fool proof method.” Jade says, as she watches Kit laugh.

“How long have you been together?” Linda asks, and okay. Jade remembers just how homophobic they were to her when she first came out.

“Almost a year now,” Kit answers before Jade can say anything, and Linda coos.

“That’s amazing! I’m glad she found someone too.”

For a second, Jade doesn’t know what to say. She remembers the comments, the graffiti in her locker, the whispers; she remembers how this woman in front of her participated in that treatment, and now she’s saying that she’s glad Jade has a girlfriend? It’s conflicting.

“Well, I have to keep going,” Linda says. “I hope to see you two at the reunion next month!”

“Sure!”

She feels Kit’s hand in her back, feels her hugging her tightly and whispering that everything is okay in her ear. Jade releases a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, hugging Kit back with as much force.

“She was such a homophobic bitch back then.” Jade murmurs, and Kit nods. “I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that she invited you too, knowing you’re my partner.”

“I get it.” Kit says, placing a small kiss in her hair. “You know, you don’t have to go. We can just stay home and watch a couple of movies together.”

“No, no.” Jade retreats and there’s a gleam in her eye that makes Kit smirk. “Let’s go to the reunion. I wanna show everybody my amazing girlfriend, whom I love very much.”

“You just wanna rejoice in their reactions and watch the world burn.”

“You know me so well.”