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For once, Beidou arrives to class early instead of five minutes late. Her students’ eyes bulge out of their heads as she gets set up, plugging her laptop into the monitor and pulling up her lecture.
“Prof. Crux,” Lumine begins, sitting in the second row of the lecture hall with her gaggle of friends. “How did you end up being early?”
“Yeah, it’s almost like a miracle,” Thoma chuckles.
“It’s no miracle,” Beidou says. “I was on the phone with my wife and she pointed out my class was soon, so I hauled ass to get here on time and not disappoint her.”
“Aw,” a few students collectively coo. Sometimes, Beidou swears that her students are more invested in her love life than whatever they themselves have going on.
Lumine smirks, one Beidou has learned to recognize that she’s about to try and distract her from her lesson plan (it usually works). “Prof. Crux, I just realized that you’ve never told us how you met your wife.”
Beidou pauses. “Are you trying to distract me before class even begins?”
“Is it working?” Lumine counters.
Though Beidou makes a show out of tapping her chin and pretending to ponder, it isn’t even really a choice. She loves her wife. “Well, since I arrived early and everything . . .”
The students lean forward on the edge of their seats, waiting for Beidou to begin. She takes her time to sit on the desk and get comfortable.
“I met my wife on the first day of my master’s program, in my first class,” Beidou says. “And believe it or not, we didn’t like each other at first.”
“Really?” Thoma asks with wide eyes.
“Yes!” Beidou laughs. “In fact, we positively hated each other.”
The campus is alive for the first day of fall classes, with freshmen rushing around carrying armloads of books and returning students casually chatting and strolling between classes. The frats are trying to recruit as loudly as possible, while the student council attempts to peacefully welcome everyone back for another wonderful year.
Out of everyone, Beidou must look miserable.
Here she is, entering a master’s program for a field she wasn’t even enthusiastic about. Who even cares about geospatial data?! There are plenty of other things Beidou could be doing, but she’s already given the school so much money, she may as well give them more.
Instead of setting her textbooks on fire in the middle of campus and walking away, Beidou enters her first class of another semester. She ends up sitting next to a pretty girl with white hair, but from how perfect her notebook, clothes, and even her pencil arrangement is, Beidou knows that she’s got a stick up her ass. She even gives Beidou a look when all Beidou has is a beaten-up notebook and a pen with a chewed cap.
“Good morning, class,” Prof. Morax says as he enters the room. Archons, this guy. He was the smartest professor in the department, but also the most boring. He’s long-winded, and Beidou is more likely to fall asleep than learn anything. “Welcome to Remote Sensing. We will begin by going over the syllabus, then we will begin our first lesson on the E-M Spectrum and Energy Flow Profiling. Any questions?”
The only question Beidou has is when can she leave? However, Ms. Perfect next to her is already raising her hand and delaying the class.
“Yes, Ms. Lin?” Prof. Morax asks.
“Prof. Morax, I looked over the syllabus before class started and I was curious if we could be covering the uses of vector data in regard to digital land cover classification.”
“Ah, very good question, Ms. Lin,” Prof. Morax nods thoughtfully. “For digital land cover classification, we will be analyzing and studying–”
Beidou watches in horror as Prof. Morax begins to drone on – and he hasn’t even pulled up the syllabus yet! Ms. Perfect (or Lin, whatever) is actually taking notes. When she notices Beidou’s annoyed expression, she gives Beidou an incredulous stare – as if Beidou is not at fault for thinking that this topic is as riveting as she does.
It takes Prof. Morax about an hour to actually start talking about the syllabus. Because of the delay, he gives extra assigned reading, on top of the usual (note: usual for him, insane for anyone else) amount.
As soon as he dismisses everyone, Beidou would be running out the door if not for one thing: “What is your problem?”
Beidou turns around to find Ms. Perfect glaring at her.
“Yes, you,” Ms. Perfect huffs. “Are you here to learn or just make dumb faces? You looked like you were about to have an aneurysm when I asked Prof. Morax a simple question.”
Beidou blinks. Oh, Ms. Perfect was just asking for it. “Forgive me if I don’t want to hear Prof. Morax drone on and on delaying the start of class. An’ now we’ve got enough pages to read to put ‘War and Peace’ to shame. At least I’ll have something to put me to sleep tonight.”
Ms. Perfect narrows her eyes. “Prof. Morax is the leading researcher in geospatial data. It’s your own fault for not wanting to take advantage of it.”
“Yeah, yeah, I bet you just think that his voice is sexy,” Beidou teases. (For the record: as a big ole lesbian, she doesn’t give two shits about Prof. Morax’s voice. This is just what she read on Rate My Professor.) “Besides, why do you care about vector data so much? I’ve always thought raster was easier to use.”
In all honesty, Beidou doesn’t give two shits about the vector VS raster debate she’s seen some of her professors get into. All she cares about is if it makes her life easier.
“You can’t be serious,” Ms. Perfect laughs disbelievingly. “Vector data is clearly superior to raster because it’s more commonly used than raster data. It also has higher accuracy and is compatible with network datasets.”
Beidou has suddenly never cared more about the vector VS raster debate.
“I’m pretty sure raster data computes faster and is used more,” Beidou says, trying to recall what she learned during her final semester of undergrad. “In my eyes, that makes it much better than vector data.”
“Just because it’s faster doesn’t mean that it’s better.”
Beidou grins. “That’s what she said.”
“Uhg! So juvenile!” Ms. Perfect rolls her eyes as she gets out of her seat. “I’m not going to bother debating if you’re going to be childish, and I’m not going to let you make me late for my next class.”
“Hey! You started it!” Ms. Perfect brushes against Beidou’s shoulder with a ‘harumph’. Beidou isn’t going to let her get the last word, though. “See you next class!”
It looks like there might be something for Beidou in this program, after all.
“–So after delaying the class, she had the gall to ask me what my problem was!” Beidou tells the class, finally getting to the good part after going into a tangent on how boring Prof. Morax was. “We snarked at each other until she left for her next class. And that’s not only how I met my wife, but how I decided to stay in the program. And here I am now!”
“And here you are not starting your class on time.”
Beidou scowls as Prof. Lin’s voice echoes through the lecture hall from the entrance. “Hey, I got here before class started today!”
“And somehow, you’re late anyways. Besides, it’s unprofessional to share details about your personal life with your students.”
“I was just telling a story. And besides, people appreciate a little personality, and would prefer to talk to a real human instead of a brick wall.”
The students look between Beidou and Prof. Lin like they’re watching a tennis match. The ball is in Prof. Lin’s court. “Personality does not matter if you are wasting these student’s time and money. I suggest you get on to starting your class.”
As Prof. Lin turns away, Beidou growls, “I would’ve started already if ya didn’t barge in!” Beidou isn’t going to let her get the last word.
“And Prof. Crux is the winner of this match,” Lumine determines.
Beidou chuckles, “Glad you think so. But, let’s get started, for real. So last class we started talking about . . .”
Beidou makes it through class without anymore distractions, but she’s not surprised when a gaggle of students follow her back to her office.
She collapses in her chair as Lumine and Thoma and Ayaka all take their usual positions in her office. “If you want help with homework, you’re going to have to try it first.”
“Don’t worry, Professor, we know,” Ayaka says.
“Can I ask a question, though?” Thoma asks.
Beidou finds something to fidget with and leans back in her chair. “Shoot.”
“If you didn’t get along with your wife at first, then how did you start to like each other?”
She sighs, “Archons, you kids are insatiable. Well, it didn’t happen until about a year later, in another one of Prof. Morax’s classes . . .”
“For this project, I’d like you to work in pairs,” Prof. Morax announces.
The class groans. Beidou raises her hand.
“Yes, Ms. Crux?”
“Can we choose our partner?”
“No.”
It’s utter bullshit, but the students don’t have much say in the matter. Prof. Morax begins to list off pairs, and Beidou waits for her name to be called.
“Beidou Crux and Ningguang Lin.”
The class goes silent as Beidou’s head snaps up and meets Ningguang’s equally vitriolic gaze. Over the past year, the two of them have made a reputation for their debates on vector and raster data. They’ve interrupted classes with their arguments and caused disruptions on campus. Everyone knows it’s a bad idea to put them together. Everyone but Prof. Morax, it seems.
“You can’t be serious, Prof. Morax,” Ningguang begins.
“I am,” Prof. Morax says. “This will be a good opportunity for both of you. Besides, you must use both vector and raster data for this project.”
It looks like there’s no way out of it. Beidou has to work with Ningguang.
After class, Beidou goes to look for Ningguang, but she’s already leaving the room. Beidou has to run after her. “Hey! Hold up!”
Ningguang turns and glares at her. “What?”
“Gee, what a kind way to greet your project partner,” Beidou sighs. “Aren’t we going to at least talk?”
“There’s no need.”
“What the – why?”
“I’m going to do it all myself, and I don’t need your help.”
Beidou stares at Ningguang. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m not.”
“That is an insane amount of work to try and do it by yourself!” Prof. Morax already assigns a crazy amount of work for one person, but he triples it when he thinks two people are working on it. Beidou sighs. She and Ningguang are both stubborn and buttheads, but Beidou wouldn’t wish all that work on any single person. “Listen, you’ll work yourself to death if you try to do all that work by yourself.”
“It beats having to listen to your inane arguments about raster data.”
“I mean, same but for you and vector data,” Beidou mumbles. “We could . . . I dunno, call a ceasefire? I won’t bitch about raster data, if you don’t bitch about vector data. At least until the project is done.”
Ningguang raises a skeptical brow. “You truly promise?”
“Yep.”
“Fine,” Ningguang sighs. “Let’s find a place and get to work.”
The two find a table tucked into the shade near the library, and quietly, since neither of them are talking at all. In fact, it’s completely silent for the first hour and a half they sit alone. It’s like they don’t know what to say without insulting each other. So, not much collaborative work gets done.
“Oh my Archons!” Miko drags Ei off the sidewalk as soon as she sees Beidou and Ningguang sitting together. “Is the world ending? Are you two getting along?”
Beidou and Ningguang are both friends with Ei and Miko, though they had met the couple separately. Beidou had first met the double engineering major Ei at the gym and the two began to work out together. Ningguang had met Miko in undergrad, and now she’s getting her MBA. Beidou was eventually introduced to Miko, and they got along, and the same with Ningguang and Ei. However, all four of them could not hang out together because of Beidou’s and Ningguang’s animosity.
“We got assigned a project together,” Beidou grumbles as the lovebirds sit down.
“Who the fuck decided that was a good idea?” Miko asks.
“Prof. Morax.”
“Are you . . . actually working together?” Ei says.
Beidou and Ningguang stare at each other. Though they had agreed to, they had yet to do so.
“I bet you that their stubborn asses said they would but haven’t bothered to try,” Miko says. She starts to smirk as soon as she notices the embarrassed look on Beidou’s and Ningguang’s faces. “Actually, not bet. You two are ridiculous. Put aside your petty arguments to get some shit done.”
Miko’s glare takes the remaining fight out of Beidou, and she says, “She’s right, y’know.”
“I’m always right,” Miko huffs.
Ningguang rolls her eyes. “No, you’re not.”
“No, I am.” Miko jostles Ei’s side. “Right, Ei?”
The panic is clear on Ei’s face, but she answers correctly. “Yes, dear.”
“Alright, let’s get to work,” Ningguang sighs, then glares at Miko. “Which means you two should get lost.”
“We were actually going to go on a date before Miko saw you two,” Ei says.
“Yep, and then we’re gonna have sex unlike you two lonely bitches,” Miko starts to tug away a very embarrassed Ei.
“You didn’t have to tell them that!”
“Bye Beidou! Bye Ningguang!”
Ei and Miko disappear into the campus crowds, leaving Beidou alone with Ningguang once again. “So . . . you’re single?”
Ningguang glares at her. “What does this have to do with our project?”
“Nothin’.” Beidou shrugs. “Just makin’ small talk.”
“Well, don’t.”
“Got it.”
Over the next few weeks, there’s no small talk. Beidou and Ningguang meet up somewhere on campus and get to work. Beidou handles the parts that use vector data, and Ningguang handles the parts that use raster data. Somehow, it works, even if the two still fight in class.
A few days before the project is due, Beidou and Ningguang plan to meet up to put the finishing touches on their paper. However, Beidou is stuck sitting alone in the library for over an hour before Ningguang finally arrives.
“Yo.” Beidou sits up straight as soon as Ningguang breezes through the automatic doors. “Where the fuck were you? I was starting to worry that you died.”
Ningguang is well known for being very punctual and is always the first one in class. Once, Beidou tried to arrive an hour earlier to one of their shared classes to prank Ningguang, but she was already there. Though Beidou doesn’t want to admit it, she was more worried than angry over Ningguang being late.
It’s clear that Ningguang is not on the top of her game today. Instead of her usual preppy look, she’s wearing a Donkin’ Dunnts uniform, there are bags under her eyes, and the usually neatly ordered papers in her notebook are all messed up. She sits down and quickly tries to prepare, opening her laptop and pulling out the correct notes. “I’m sorry for being late. Let’s just get to work.”
Beidou stares at Ningguang. “No, no. Hold on. Are you okay?”
“You know I don’t like small talk, and we’ve already wasted an hour.”
“This isn’t small talk. You look like you’re hanging on by a thread. Are you okay?”
Ningguang sighs and just starts typing on her laptop, ignoring Beidou, so she slams it shut. “Beidou!”
Now that she has Ningguang’s attention, Beidou repeats herself. “Are. You. Okay?”
Eventually, Ningguang withers under Beidou’s unwavering stare. In a quiet, unsure voice, Ningguang says, “No, I am not.”
“What happened?” Beidou asks. She ditches her cold voice and tries to sound softer.
“My mother is in the hospital,” Ningguang admits. “I had to go there straight after work and couldn’t stay there for long because we have to work on the project. And, I have to go to my second job after that, so I won’t be able to see her again until after my shift at midnight and I don’t even know if I can get back into the hospital at that point . . .”
Beidou stares at Ningguang again, but something’s different now. For the past year she’s known Ningguang, she’s always been ‘Ms. Perfect’, from how she takes her notes to her clothes to how she holds herself. Beidou just assumed that extended to her personal life too. But now, now that mask is gone. Now she’s just Ningguang, and Beidou is seeing her for the first time.
“Go back to the hospital to be with your mom, I’ll handle the rest.”
“What?”
“I said I’ll handle the rest. All we have to do is put the finishing touches on it, right?”
“Yes, but–”
“Don’t worry about this Ningguang,” Beidou says. “I don’t have family myself, but I know that it’s important, so I’ll finish the project. If you’re so worried, I’ll send you an email with the finished project, okay? Just get out of here.”
Ningguang looks like she wants to protest, but she finally sighs. “Thank you, Beidou.”
“It’s no problem, Ningguang.” Beidou leans back and watches as Ningguang repacks her stuff and is out of the library without a second glance. It takes a moment for Beidou to snap back to reality and get to work.
Beidou hasn’t seen Ningguang for over two weeks. The most she’s heard from her is the approval for the paper sent over email, and word for Miko that Ningguang has been living at the hospital when she’s not working. So, Beidou makes sure to send her all of the class notes she’s been missing.
Knock-knock-knock!
“Who the fuck could that be?” Beidou grumbles as she stands. It’s one of those rare chances where she gets the apartment all to herself, and has been indulging by watching wrestling on the big TV in the living room. Her best guess is that Ganyu forgot her key, but Ganyu never forgets anything . . .
To Beidou’s surprise, Ningguang is on the other side of the door. She’s looking much better after Beidou last saw her a couple weeks ago. Ningguang is carrying a bag of some kind, but Beidou can’t find it in her to care about that right now.
“How the fuck did you find out where I live?” Beidou asks.
Ningguang rolls her eyes. “Hello to you too.”
“No really, how the fuck?”
“Miko gave me your address.”
“Oh.”
“May I come in?”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.” Beidou holds the door open so Ningguang can enter. She strides into the apartment like she’s been here before, and places the bag on the counter. “So . . . why are you here?”
Ningguang shifts uneasily from foot to foot, out of place in Beidou’s apartment. “I came here to thank you.”
Beidou blinks. “For what?”
Ningguang rolls her eyes like she can’t believe Beidou (though to be honest Beidou’s mind is still on wrestling). “For finishing the project and sending me class notes. It’s because of you that I was able to keep up with coursework while being with my mom in the hospital.”
“Really? No one else sent you notes?” Beidou asks.
“I must admit – yours were the most comprehensive.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Wow.” Beidou can’t help but grin. “I bet it hurt you to say that.”
“You have no idea,” Ningguang sighs. “But, I’ve come to repay you.”
As Ningguang sets the bag on the counter, Beidou says, “You really didn’t have to, especially since you’re gonna have to deal with hospital bills–”
“That’s why I brought you food instead.” Ningguang pulls out multiple containers of food. Even without smelling it, Beidou’s mouth is watering because it looks so good.
“Did you cook it yourself?” Beidou asks.
“Yes,” Ningguang says.
“You can cook?”
Ningguang rolls her eyes again. “Obviously.”
Beidou grabs a random container and opens it up. It’s mora meat, and the fragrant smell fills the air. “Oh, you brought the good shit.”
“Just return the containers when you’re done.” Ningguang heads towards the door, but Beidou steps in front of her. “What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.”
“You got somewhere to be?”
“. . . Not today. Why?”
“Why don’t you stay?”
“Why?”
Beidou finds herself thinking that too, since she’s speaking without thinking. Ningguang’s been on her mind since that meeting in the library, and she doesn’t know why. “Well . . . I dunno if I can eat all this food myself . . .”
To her surprise, Ningguang sighs. “Fine. Only because I’m hungry.”
“Sweet.” Beidou can’t help but grin and she doesn’t know why.
They pull out all the food and eat on the finest dishes Beidou has (paper plates). Ningguang does insist on getting utensils for what seems to be mostly finger food. It’s silent at first, the only noise coming from the TV in the background.
“So,” Beidou begins. “How’s your mom?”
“She’s doing much better,” Ningguang says, clearly more relaxed. “She was able to go home a couple days ago, and I’ve been taking care of her from there.”
“That’s good. I’m glad she’s alright.”
“So am I.”
“Are you two close?”
Ningguang nods. “She basically raised me by herself, as my father was never around. She did so much for me, it’s only right for me to take care of her now.”
“Yeah.”
“What about you?”
“Hhm?”
“What about your family?”
“Oh.” Beidou stuffs more food into her mouth and swallows before responding. “Don’t have one.”
“What?”
Beidou shrugs. “I’m an orphan.”
Ningguang scratches her fork against a plate as she suddenly looks up at Beidou. “Oh.”
“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. By the way, did you put some extra spice in this mora meat or somethin’? It actually tastes really good.”
“It’s . . . it’s my mother’s recipe.”
“Oh, cool. Family secret stuff or do you wanna share it?”
“. . . I’ll have to give it to you some other time.”
“Sweet.” When the awkward silence lapses again, Beidou suggests, “Is there anything you wanna watch on TV? It’s the Friday Night Pummel Zone, Hot Igneous Beverly Caustin verses John Cena. Supposed ta be a real good show.”
“I don’t know anything about wrestling,” Ningguang says.
“Ah. Okay. Well . . . anything else you want to do while we eat?”
Ningguang glances around the apartment, and she zeroes in on the chess set on the coffee table. “Is that your chess set or your roommates’?”
“Mine, actually.” Beidou grins. “Wanna play?”
“Only if you’re comfortable with losing,” Ningguang says. She sits up a bit straight, a fire lit in her eyes that almost consumes Beidou. “I happened to be undefeated.”
“So am I, so this is going to be entertaining,” Beidou laughs. Ganyu has actually stopped playing with her because she keeps on winning. Beidou crosses the room and brings the chess set over. She sets it between her and Ningguang and puts the pieces back into place. “Which color do you want?”
“I’ll take white,” Ningguang says.
“Good, I always like black.” Beidou spins the set around. “Alright, you go first.”
It quickly becomes evident that they’re both good chess players. They’ve both memorized the optimal openings and defenses, but after the first few turns the fun begins. They push back and forth on offensive and defensive, pushing it down to the wire. Beidou finds herself smiling as she’s actually having fun, and though Ningguang’s hiding her mouth behind her hand, Beidou bets that Ningguang’s enjoying this two. When it comes down to the wire, Ningguang checkmates Beidou.
“And that means I win,” Ningguang announces as she takes Beidou’s king.
“Damn,” Beidou hisses, but she’s still smiling. “Good game! We’ll have to do this again!”
Ningguang raises a skeptical brow. “Are you serious?”
“Uh, yeah? Why wouldn’t be?”
Ningguang chuckles to herself. “Well, I was under the impression that you did not like me.”
“Well, did you give me any hints that you like me?” Beidou counters. “We probably both could do with a little rapport between us. If you’re fine with that.”
It doesn’t look like Beidou’s words have convinced Ningguang, until she slyly smiles. “I think that would be fine. It is tiring being antagonistic all the time.”
“You tell me,” Beidou says with a huffy laugh. “I once got up at six am to try and beat you to class one day after going to sleep at two am. I lost sleep over this.”
“So did I,” Ningguang says. Beidou gives her a curious look, and she elaborates with a shit-eating grin. “I actually knew that you were going to do that because Ei accidentally let it slip. I don’t normally arrive to class that early.”
“Holy shit.”
“I don’t even always arrive to class on time, you’re just always late. But I have to ask, you wouldn’t happen to know where all of my lab equipment went in our Analysis and Modeling of Environmental Data lab, do you?”
“Oh! Yeah, I was totally the one who did it. I had a class in that lab before and I just moved all the equipment around the room once the instructor left.”
“You drove me insane.”
“Yeah, it was fun to watch.”
“Not as fun as watching your lab computer crash every lab.”
“You did that?!”
“I loaded a bunch of junk files onto the computer one day after you left the lab early.”
“I wasn’t the only one who used that computer, you know.”
“I know.”
“Damn, that’s cold . . . but I respect it.”
Beidou can’t find herself getting angry as Ningguang admits to all of these offenses, but to be fair, Beidou did the same to her. They’ve developed a newfound mutual respect. Maybe they can get along a little bit now . . . as long as they don’t bring up vector or raster data.
Beidou is more than happy to be home after a long day of work, especially because it’s one of the rare days when her wife gets home before her. Following the fragrant smell of food and sound of humming, Beidou finds Ningguang in the kitchen.
“Hey baby.” Beidou quickly embraces Ningguang from behind as she stands at the stove. Beidou rests her chin on Ningguang’s shoulder to watch what she’s doing.
Ningguang pauses and turns her head to kiss Beidou. “Welcome home, love.”
“What’cha doin’?”
“I was getting hungry so I thought I’d make a snack before you got home, but now I’m making mora meat for myself.”
“Can you make me some too?” Beidou says, jutting her upper lip out in a faux-pout.
“Of course. Can you grab some extra ingredients for me?”
“Sure.” As Beidou lets go of Ningguang to walk around the kitchen, she asks, “Do you remember the first time you made this for me?”
“I do.” Out of the corner of Beidou’s eye, she can see Ningguang smile. “Why?”
“Nothin’,” Beidou shrugs. “Just feelin’ nostalgic today, I guess.”
“Well, don’t get stuck in the past for too long, since I’ll need those ingredients if you want to eat.”
Beidou rolls her eyes and hands the ingredients over to Ningguang. As Beidou leans against the counter, she asks, “Am I allowed to reminisce now?”
“As long as you don’t make a mess in my kitchen.”
“There goes my plan,” Beidou sighs, but instantly smiles as she looks at her wife. “Remember when I first asked you out?”
“How could I not?” Ningguang says.
You’re in love with Ningguang.
Miko’s words repeat in Beidou’s mind with each beat of her heart. Her feet feel heavy but she still drags them forward.
You’re in love with Ningguang.
Is that true? Is it that obvious? For the longest time, Ningguang was perfect – and unobtainable. Now, however, as Beidou and Ningguang grew closer, their relationship has changed.
You’re in love with Ningguang.
There are a few things about Ningguang that annoy Beidou, like her insistence on vector data. However, there are many more things that Beidou likes about Ningguang: her dry wit, her intelligence, her smile, her attention to detail, her laugh, her drive, her pout when she’s deep in thought . . .
Fuck. Beidou’s in love with Ningguang.
After spending so much time together, Beidou knows exactly where Ningguang would be right now: on the second floor of the library working on her final thesis, tucked away at a table in the back corner so she can’t be disturbed. Beidou makes a beeline for Ningguang, and finds her in that exact spot, with her silky hair tied in a ponytail to keep out of her eyes, red-rimmed glasses perched on the tip of her nose as she focuses on her work, and tapping her pen on the table to the beat of some song Beidou doesn’t know. She’s so beautiful. Why didn’t Beidou realize this earlier?
“Oh, Beidou.” Ningguang notices Beidou after a moment, voice low in the quiet of the library. “Are you here to work on your thesis, like I’ve been telling you to do? You’re more than welcome to sit with me, though I still claim the majority of the table for my own work.”
Suddenly, Beidou’s voice is dry and she struggles to get comprehensive words to come out of her mouth. Ningguang stares at her in confusion until she clears her throat. “Actually, I was just . . . looking for you.”
Ningguang tilts her head slightly. “For what?”
Shit, now Beidou has to come up with an excuse. Or bite the bullet and confess. Or just forget about this and leave and never come back. Or die right in front of Ningguang, forever changing the trajectory of her life. Or say something – anything – because maybe she does just want to listen to Ningguang’s voice a little longer. “I . . . I wanted to ask you about somethin’ for Info Vis. You took that last year, right?”
With a nod, Ningguang says. “Yes, I did. Are you having trouble with it? I told you not to take it at the same time as we’re supposed to be completing our thesis.”
Beidou sits down and chuckles dryly. “I know, I know. But just humor me, will you?”
“Fine. What is it?”
“What did you use for the last lab? I’ve got an idea on where to start, but I don’t feel confident about this.”
Ningguang rolls her eyes. “I bet that’s because you’re trying to use raster data for the lab, when the network dataset capability of vector data.”
A switch is flipped inside of Beidou. For as well as she and Ningguang have been getting along, they still argue about this topic and this topic only. Beidou’s previous plans fly out the wind as she sits up a little straighter. “Now, hold on. We’re dealing with continuous data, right? Vector is gonna be slow as shit trying to handle all of that.”
“Yes, but vector data is going to have more flexibility for different tasks in the lab, and even though it’s slightly slower it won’t be as large of a file to process! Vector data is more optimal for the lab assignment, and the fact that you’re struggling to get raster data to fit proves it.”
“Holy shit, why am I in love with you when you are so wrong?”
Ningguang blinks and stares at Beidou. “You love me?”
Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit. Beidou continues to speak without thinking, even though that clearly isn’t working out for her. “Yeah, I do! And I’ll take you on a date to fuckin’ prove it!” Ningguang just stares at her, so Beidou’s mouth helpfully adds, “Nerd.”
Out of all the reactions Beidou could have gotten, Ningguang starts to laugh. She laughs so hard that her glasses fall off and onto the table. Beidou is stuck standing there, waiting for Ningguang to calm down. Through labored breaths, Ningguang asks, “Is that your idea of asking me out?”
“. . . Maybe,” Beidou admits.
“Well.” Ningguang smiles at Beidou, so brilliant Beidou’s almost blinded, as she picks up her glasses. “I don’t know what to say other than . . . yes.”
“Yes?” Beidou repeats dumbly.
Ningguang nods. “Yes.”
“Great! Perfect! Amazing!” Beidou’s body starts to move of its own accord, standing up and walking away from Ningguang. “I am looking forward to our first date that is going to happen! Yes! Holy shit.”
Beidou walks all the way out of the building and stands in front of the library. Winter is melting away to spring, and a rare warm breeze is rustling the budding leaves on the trees. The sun is out, and the blue sky is only partially obscured by fluffy white clouds. It’s the perfect day, only made better by Ningguang agreeing to go out with Beidou . . . it’s just that they never agreed on a place and time for that date.
“Shit.” Beidou turns tail and rushes back into the library.
Ningguang turns to Beidou with a smile. “It was a disaster.”
“You still said yes!”
“Out of pity.”
“What?!”
Ningguang laughs at Beidou’s outrage. “I jest, dear. Even if it couldn’t have gone worse . . . you and I were on a collision course for a long time. I don’t think it could have ended up any other way with us.”
Beidou smiles and leans in to kiss Ningguang’s cheek. “I agree.” For Beidou, it’s amazing to think that a debate so petty was powerful enough to bring them together; they started off hating each other, almost instantly, and over something so insignificant, and but managed to grow into something so much more. She off-handedly mentions, “You know, I actually didn’t care about raster data all that much before I met you.”
Ningguang nearly drops the pan she’s holding on the ground as she turns on her heel to face Beidou. “What. Our whole rivalry–”
Before Ningguang can continue, Beidou presses a finger to her lips. “–Started just because I met you.”
Ningguang stares at Beidou. “I don’t know if I should feel flattered or offended.”
“It’s a good thing,” Beidou says with a laugh. “Because you gave me a passion for our field. I didn’t have a direction before I met you. It’s like you said, we were on a collision course, but it’s more like I was drawn to you in some way. As soon as I was in your orbit, I couldn’t get out, not that I wanted to, obviously.”
“You could have started with that,” Ningguang says with an exasperated sigh as she gets back to cooking. Beidou chuckles and embraces Ningguang from behind again. She presses soft kisses along the bare expanse of Ningguang’s neck. Ningguang relaxes against her, and says, “I still think you’re crazy.”
“Well, if I’m crazy then it’s true that it’s all because of you, and you wouldn’t want me any other way.”