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It’s happening again. Why, oh why, does this keep happening to her? Lydia looks at her bed, and the lump that’s curled up underneath her expensive duvet. It’s not an overly large lump, but it’s definitely not the way she had left her neatly made bed. Lydia runs a hand through her hair, something she only does when she’s really stumped.
Maybe her roommate isn’t home. Lydia knows her luck is slim, but she figures it’s worth a shot anyway. She walks quietly towards her roommate’s bedroom and peeks in. Nope, no way she was climbing in that bed.
With a sigh, Lydia walks back to her bed. She takes her bra off, tugs her shorts down, and climbs into bed with none other than Cora Hale. This really has to stop.
Cora makes a sleepy murmuring noise as she realizes that someone’s joined her. Instead of claiming her space like any normal person would do, Cora snuggles into Lydia’s chest and wraps an arm around her waist. If anything, Lydia has to admit that Cora is great at sharing the same space.
Lydia huffs. This is definitely the last time this is happening. It really is.
And if maybe her fingers softly stroke Cora’s hair, well, that’s her secret. She’d never admit that she’s grateful for Cora’s company; that it’s a relief to not crawl into an empty, cold bed.
Cora’s fingers curl around her side, squeezing, and Lydia closes her eyes. This isn’t so bad.
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Lydia hates when Malia’s cousin sleeps over. She has no idea why Cora always ends up in her bed. It’s not as though she’s the one inviting her over. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word, and maybe she just really dislikes it when she wakes up to find herself underneath a drooling Cora the following morning.
She would be amused if she was in the mood. After how emotionally exhausting yesterday had been though, Lydia’s not in the mood. Gently, she shoves Cora off her and watches as the snoring girl curls up against her pillow that she didn’t use at all last night. Lydia rubs her chest, as her boob’s a little sore from Cora’s jaw.
At least that’s one perk about this whole thing. Cora sleeps like she might be dead. Lydia would worry if the snoring and drool isn’t a great indication of her still being alive.
Lydia tosses her blankets off her and tucks Cora in. Never let it be said that she’s a monster who leaves the almost dead to fend for themselves. Lydia brushes some hair from Cora’s lips. Attractive.
She barely remembers to pull her shorts on before she opens her bedroom door. Lydia bangs on Malia’s door.
Cora is innocent in all this. Malia’s the one to blame. She can’t forget that.
There’s a loud groan. Lydia’s lips quirk. The cousins remind her so much of one another. She knocks again; knowing it’ll take about five times before Malia so much as moves a hand.
“Malia Tate, don’t make me come in there!” Lydia calls out.
She hears a different groan; one that definitely does not belong to her roommate. Lydia sighs. Great, now she’s the annoying vag-block of the century. Malia is going to kill her.
The door swings open and the cutest girl is standing there. Her hair is as wild and messy as yesterday’s makeup. She yawns widely, not covering her mouth. “Malia said you’d be angry if you came home to Cora in your bed. I promised her I would make my banana chocolate chip pancakes to make it up to you. That way she can sleep in longer.”
Lydia’s annoyance dissolves as the girl makes her way out into the kitchen. She follows her with her eyes. The girl brushes a piece of her hair out of her face. Lydia has to admit, Malia has excellent taste in women.
“Who are you?” Lydia asks, only her tone is softer now. She sits down at the island.
“Kira. I met Malia at the wildest party last night. She’s fun,” Kira says, yawning again. “Bowl?”
Lydia points to a cupboard. “I’m Lydia.”
“Oh yeah. Cora wouldn’t shut up about you. You sound like a great couple. Measuring cups?” Kira asks.
Lydia’s lips part as she points to another drawer. She doesn’t know what to say to that, except finally she manages, “We’re not dating.”
Kira turns to look at her now. She shrugs. “Maybe you should be. Flour and stuff?”
Lydia gets up from her chair. “Maybe it’ll be easier if I help.”
Kira’s face brightens. “Thank you!”
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It’s no surprise when Lydia ends up telling a sleepy Kira to go back to bed and she’ll finish making the pancakes. Kira takes her up on her offer, sort of. She sits down where Lydia had been instead and talks to her between yawns.
“Did you and Malia hook up last night?” Lydia asks as she mixes the pancake batter.
Kira ducks her head. “Ah, no, we didn’t. Malia informed me many times that she’s straight. I mean, she didn’t flat-out say she was straight but she talked an awful lot about Stiles. I was too drunk to make it to my room.”
“Oh,” Lydia says, frowning. She is pretty sure Malia is bisexual, but she supposes they haven’t really discussed it before. “I know Stiles. He’s pretty into Malia’s cousin, Derek. So I doubt Malia has a crush on him or anything.”
Kira’s face lights up again. Lydia’s quickly discovering that she likes Kira’s face like that. She likes it a lot.
Lydia let’s Kira quietly go wake Malia with promises of pancakes, while she turns off the stove top and sets the last pancake onto the plate. Then she heads into her room and pokes Cora’s cheek.
“Woman, would you wake up? There are banana chocolate-chip pancakes waiting for you,” Lydia mutters. She pokes Cora’s other cheek. Nothing.
With a sigh, she starts to tickle Cora’s sides. If she’s learned anything, it’s that Cora is the most ticklish person on the earth.
There’s a loud squeak and then a squeal. “Lydia, oh my god, stop waking me up like this!”
Lydia snorts.
“It’s fucking torture,” Cora groans, yanking the blanket over her head. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. Besides, there are pancakes waiting for you. Get up.”
Cora seats at Lydia, but she’s already halfway to the door. Cora rolls over and shouts, “You suck!”
“I let your drunken ass sleep in my bed all night. I think the least you can do is say thank you,” Lydia snaps back. God, Cora drives her crazy. Her best friend, Stiles, would point out that Lydia only acts like she does. Stiles is under the impression that Lydia does like her. He’s wrong.
Lydia smiles at Malia, because she looks like a mess.
“Lyds, I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were coming home,” Malia says, frowning. “Where did you sleep?”
Lydia shrugs, not willing to admit she had crawled in bed with Cora. She hadn’t really thought about crashing in the living room on the couch. “It’s fine. A head’s up next time though?”
“Sure, no problem,” Malia promises despite the fact that they both know it’ll happen again. Lydia grabs the spatula and plates the pancakes. Malia turns to Kira with a smile and says, “I bet these are gonna be good, Kira.”
“Oh, actually I didn’t –”
“I kept Kira company while she made them,” Lydia interrupts. She gives Kira a wink. “Next time maybe you should make it up to me instead?”
Malia laughs. “Alright, sounds fair. Kira offered though and you know I’m shit at making pancakes.”
Lydia agrees. “That’s true. Hale! Get your ass out here!”
“I hate you, Martin!” Cora shouts back, but the bedroom door swings open. Lydia can’t help but admire her. The black tank top barely on properly, hair an absolute disaster and her shorts are frumpy. Lydia watched as she takes a moment to fix her tank top before continuing into the kitchen. She takes the plate of pancakes and smiles. “God, these smell good. Thanks.”
“Of course,” Lydia murmurs. She turns back. “What’s on the agenda for everyone today?”
Three people look at her with glares. She smiles, amused, before she digs into her pancakes.
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Lydia knows it’ll happen again. She doesn’t expect it to be so soon. A week later, Lydia is on the phone with Stiles while she unlocks her dorm door.
“Whatever you say, Stilinski. Call me when you and Derek finally make out,” Lydia says, pushing the door open. She pauses, fiddling with the key and lock for a moment.
“You don’t understand, Lydia. Derek doesn’t look at me like that,” Stiles whines.
“Uh-huh, sure,” Lydia says, finally shutting the door behind her. She locks it and turns around. “I’m willing to bet a hundred bucks that he’s just as into you as you are him.”
“I could use a hundred bucks,” Stiles says, thoughtfully.
“You could also lose it,” she reminds him gently. She drops her purse onto the table and walks into her bedroom. Freezing at the sight of a half-dressed Cora on her bed, Lydia sighs. “Stiles? I gotta call you back.”
“Oh,” Cora says, frowning. She closes her laptop and looks down, as though she’s embarrassed. Cora doesn’t embarrass easily; Lydia knows this. How many times had her shirt slipped a little too far over when they woke up? She has a perfect image in her head of the round pinkness; she inhales quickly and looks away. “Sorry, Malia said you were at class all afternoon.”
Lydia shrugs, not moving from the doorway. She clutches her phone tightly in her hand at her side. “I decided to skip. Why are you here? Why are you in my room?”
Cora sighs. “Listen, there’s some stuff going on. I didn’t want to be home, so Malia said I could hang out here. But I’m more comfortable in your room than hers?”
Lydia peels off her jacket and goes to hang it in her closet. She shrugs at Cora, who seems worried. “No big deal, Hale.”
Cora’s shoulders relax and Lydia shuts her closet door. “Sorry, I'll—”
Lydia shakes her head. “No, no, don’t worry about it. You’re fine. What are you working on anyway?”
“Oh, just the world’s most boring philosophy paper ever.” Cora’s eyebrows jump upright when Lydia flops onto the end of the bed, lying on her back with her feet over the edge. “Rough day?”
Lydia scoffs. “You have no idea. It’s not really anything in particular. I just didn’t feel like going to me next two classes. I’m bored. I’m bored of classes, bored of school, bored of my life. I don’t feel like anything is happening.”
Cora settles into the bed a little bit more. “I wish I had that problem. I’ve been struggling with my classes. I can’t seem to keep up, because too much is happening.”
“Anything I can help you with?”
“Know anything about statistics? This stats class is killing me in particular.”
Lydia gives her a bright smile. “As it turns out, I aced Advanced Stats last semester.”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Cora breathes.
Lydia sits up, setting a hand on the bed to prop herself. She gives Cora her best smile. The same one she used to use on Allison’s dad in high school. Fuck, she misses her best friend. Choosing schools states away from each other was a terrible idea. “Do I look like someone who jokes about Advanced Stats?”
Cora takes a pillow from behind her and smacks Lydia in the face. “Actually, you look like someone who doesn’t know how to joke at all.”
Lydia falls back with the impact of the pillow. Then she carefully tucks Cora’s laptop under her bed. She tackles her a moment later; Cora doesn’t even see it coming.
“Take that back, Hale! Tell me I’m hilarious,” Lydia says, tickling Cora’s sides. Cora is squealing beneath her, squirming, and laughing.
“No, never!”
Lydia moves her hands down a little further. Cora’s hips were strangely the most ticklish place on her body - that Lydia knows of, anyway. Cora shrieks.
“C'mon, give it up! You think I’m funny!”
She pauses tickling, her hands settling lightly on Cora’s sides. Somehow, amidst all this, she finds herself straddling Cora’s legs. Cora’s chest is rising and falling hard enough that Lydia almost feels guilty for tickling her at all.
“You okay?”
Cora looks up at her, smile on her face. “Yes, you jackass; I’m okay. I can barely breathe, but I’m okay.”
“I read somewhere that people who are ticklish laugh in panic; that it’s how they react. Cora, I’m sorry if—”
Cora shakes her head, reaching out to catch one of Lydia’s hands in hers. “No, it’s fine. I know you wouldn’t seriously harm me.”
Lydia’s shoulders relax a little, and she gives Cora a smirk. “So, think I’m funny now?”
Cora shrugs. “You could use some work.”
Lydia threatens to tickle her again, and Cora squeals in protest. Lydia says, “I’ll do it, Cora! I will!”
They’re both laughing so hard they miss someone clearing their throat in the doorway. Twice. Lydia turns the third time Malia clears her throat. Her face grows red, and she’s surprised. This may be the first time she’s genuinely embarrassed.
“I came home early so we could go get food, Core,” Malia says. “But I see you’ve already made other plans. I’m going to go call Kira. I might crash at her place tonight!”
Lydia glances down at Cora, who is staring at her with wide eyes.
“Sounds great, cousin,” Cora says, reaching around with her free hand. She finds a pillow and covers her face. Lydia snorts.
“See you later, Tate,” Lydia says, but she’s not looking at her roommate anymore. She’s tugging the pillow off Cora’s face. She hears Malia walking away; a moment later, she’s on the phone talking to someone.
Lydia yanks the pillow away from Cora and says, “Hey. If I have to suffer by showing my face, so should you!”
Cora and Lydia share a look before they both start laughing. Lydia carefully crawls off her, realizing that she is still holding Cora’s hand and lets go.
Cora tosses a pillow at her and whispers, “If you care about me at all, you’ll let me sleep here tonight. If Malia comes home and I’m in her bed, she’s going to attack me with questions.”
If you care about me at all – well that’s a loaded statement.
Lydia sighs, but this time, there’s a smile on her face. She’s forgotten any previous stress now, feeling relaxed for the first time in months. She settles back on her bed and puts the pillow in her lap. “Sure, you can stay here.”
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Sharing a bed with Cora is different that night. Lydia can barely sleep. She’s aware of every inch where her body meets Cora’s. She can’t move too much; Cora has a death grip on her. If Lydia does squirm a little, Cora moves with her.
Her mind keeps rolling over different scenarios in her head. What would her relationship be with Cora if she had met her in a coffee shop, maybe reading her favourite book? If they had shared the same table in the library? If Lydia hadn’t met her until Malia’s wedding day years from now? Would it still be like this?
She realizes she’s going to have to give Stiles money, because he’s right. Somewhere along the way, Lydia’s developed feelings for her roommate’s cousin. She squeezes her eyes shut tightly and exhales. It’s going to be okay.
Lydia finally closes her eyes, drifting off. She dreams in flashes of images, different ways she may have met Cora.
She sees her looking up with a smile, laughter on her face. She sees her walking away, annoyed. Lydia sees Cora commenting on how pretentious she is; sneering at her as though she’s a disease. She sees her bumping into her at a grocery store, apologizing, and continuing on like Lydia means nothing. Cora’s yelling at her in one instant; crying on the curbside in the next.
The flashes are gone as quick as they come.
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When she wakes up, she knows two things.
One: she is exhausted. She hadn’t gotten a restful sleep at all, and her brain is still muddled. She’s trying to sort out what her life is; what’s real, and what isn’t.
Two: she smells nothing but pomegranate, because her nose is buried deep in hair. She hears a soft murmur, feels a body shift against hers as though it’s seeking her out. With her eyes cracked open the slightest, she instinctively presses her lips against someone else’s. It feels natural, as if she does this every morning. Maybe this is what could’ve been with Cora.
Lydia tenses at the same moment Cora does. She’s suddenly wide awake and alert. Cora starts to pull herself away.
They kissed. She had kissed Cora. Holy fucking shit. Shit, shit, shit.
“Lydia, I’m so–”
“I’m sorry,” Lydia says; her voice thicker than usual. She rubs at her eyes, letting Cora untangle herself. Lydia’s surprised at how cool she instantly gets. She looks at the messy-hair, wide-eye girl and gives a sheepish smile. “I was dreaming about you; and you were here so…”
“I guess I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long, my lips just got away. It won’t happen again. Please don’t hate me. I was enjoying this.”
Lydia wipes away some crusts in the corner of her eye and yawns before the meaning of Cora’s words hit her. “Wait, you’ve wanted to do that for a while?”
Cora shrugs. “Hard not to. You’re kind of really incredible.”
Her lips curl up, and she scoots back down in the bed, holding an arm out. “C'mon. It’s too early to get up.”
Cora seems nervous and conflicted as she curls up in Lydia’s arms again. “I hope you won’t tell Malia—”
“I hope we do,” Lydia murmurs. She presses her lips against the top of Cora’s head. “How else am I going to explain having my girlfriend over all the time?”
Cora turns to look up at her. “Girlfriend?”
“Okay, yeah, maybe not right away. That’s fine, but I was hoping?” Lydia asks, smiling. “I don’t know what it is about you, Hale.”
Cora sniffs. “It’s probably my stunning personality, incredible smile, or my fine-ass bod.”
Lydia hums.
“I have a great laugh. And I can outsmart you on some things. Some is better than none,” Cora continues to say. “Plus you’re lucky to have me as your girlfriend. People are going to be so jealous.”
“You’re right,” Lydia says with a smile. She kisses the top of Cora’s head. “You’re absolutely right. Now, wanna make a bet that Malia and Kira will drag their feet on getting together?”
Cora snorts. “If we’re betting on them, we should bet on Stiles and Derek too. My big brother talks about that kid more than anyone else. Stiles can do nothing right and yet, nothing wrong.”
Lydia intertwines her fingers with Cora’s. “The world isn’t ready for us. We’re going to run this place.”
Cora sighs, content. “Hell yeah, we are. But can we do that later? I’m still pretty sleepy and I’d like to share sleepy kisses with you.”
“Mmm, sleepy kisses it is. We can rule the world tomorrow.”
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