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“Gigi?”
The Gremlin knew exactly why Cecilia was knocking on her door. She inched her face even closer to her manga volume in response. "Just tune it out and it’ll go away!” is a method of dealing with problems she’s relied on for as long as she can remember.
“Gigi. Don’t make me break down this door.”
A method that has failed her every single time.
“That’s an empty threat and you know it!”
“You wanna risk it?”
“Yeah! I do!” Gigi put down the volume and yelled to her door. “Good luck explaining to Raora that you destroyed our base because of some marker! I’m sure she’ll loooooove having extra work to do because of your temper!”
Cecilia giggled. She wasn’t even angry. Well, she was, but not for the reasons Gigi thought. Though, she could hardly call it anger, it was more of a complicated annoyance and frustration. A little bit towards Gigi, but mostly herself. A frustration she’s kept at bay and steadily maintained control of, until this morning.
“Gigi, they’re gonna be out for a month. I can repair this door within like, a week.”
“Then what are you waiting for!?”
Cecilia swung her foot back, preparing to give the door a harder kick than the ones she’s delivered to some of the criminals she’s caught.
And with that rise of tension, the traces of anger still left within her faded away.
The Automaton put her foot down, and pitted her head against the door.
She took another look at her right arm, the source of this “conflict” if she could even call it that. It held the cutest doodles Gigi had drawn yet. Her bicep and shoulder were where most of the actual drawings were. Small little cute versions of Justice and Advent covered it, all doing little activities. Liz was singing while Nerissa fawned over her, Raora was playfully chasing Fuwawa while Mococo chased and bit her, Cecilia played her Violin, Bijou danced, and lastly Shiori and Gigi were drawn with mischievous toothy grins. However, Cecilia’s favorite part was the rest of her arm. There was one doodle on her wrist. Cecilia and Gigi kissing, their heads and elongated lips were shaped in a way that reminded her of fish. And then the rest were all messages, most of them had terrible grammar and spelling.
”luv u”
”stoopd”
”u make my heart turn like ur gears”
”CCCat”
”Immermeow”
”sorry for all of this”
”I was bored”
”this is not a confeshon”
”or is it”
”youll nvr know”
”hahahahahaha”
“Gigi…I’m not even angry. I just wanna talk about this. Isn’t that what you’re always sa-“
“No! You threatened to break down my door! Why should I believe you!?”
“Oh come on you know that was a bluff.”
“I-You-“ Gigi paused. Cecilia admitting to something like that was not like her. “Well I’m still not letting you in!”
Cecilia turned and sat down to lean back against the door. A long sigh escaped her and calmed her nerves even more as she looked up at the ceiling, and then back to the doodles, especially the one on her wrist.
“Then can you at least listen?”
“No!” Gigi sounded louder. She was even closer to the door than she was before.
Cecilia giggled. One of the things she found ridiculous about humans was their inability to be honest with their feelings, especially when doing so did nothing but benefit them. On off days when she visited towns and cities, getting to know the very people she was tasked to keep safe, she always had a habit of eavesdropping in on their conversations. Relationship and emotional troubles like the one she was experiencing right now with this gremlin came up numerous times.
“Stop laughing!”
“So you are listening.”
“Shut up!....Make your point.” The end of her sentence winded down to a more fragile tone. A tone that caused vibrations within the many gears of Cecilia’s body. In that moment, she had a better understanding of how the human heart worked. She looked back up at the ceiling, taking in a deep breath. The tension between the Automaton and the Gremlin left the room, and had now entered her stomach. She sighed again.
Gigi leaned against the door as well, in the same position as her.
“I’m sorry.” Cecilia started. “This? This was all because of me. I never gave us any opportunity to actually sit down and talk about like….what we were.”
Gigi buried her face into her knees. “Shut up. I’m the one who’s sorry." She wanted to say.
“I couldn’t because…I didn’t want what we had to change. You threw flirts at me, I pretended to hate them, I threw flirts back, you made the cutest noises imaginable, and then repeat cycle; I…loved it. I loved it a lot.” This time Cecilia was the one whose fragility could be heard through the door.
Gigi hugged her knees so hard she was practically curled into a ball. She wanted to unlock the door.
“So, Gigi…”
She knew what Cecilia was about to say next, she wanted to die.
“Do you like me?”
The silent minute that followed the moment the question left the Automaton’s mouth felt like a cruel prank from the Gods themselves. She already knew what Gigi’s answer was, so she answered the real question on both girls minds.
“Because I like you.”
Gigi’s eyes widened with shock. The contrast between the weight that had been crushing her for the past twenty minutes and the feeling of Cecilia lifting it with those words made the Gremlin want to gasp for air.
“Like, you’re just the best fucking person I’ve ever met. You’re the funniest person I’ve ever met like—I swear—some of the stories you tell about the humans you like to eavesdrop on? They get me so badly it’s bad for my parts. I sometimes consider telling you to stop but I just don’t want you to. Just talking to you in general is some of the most fun I've ever had. Ever. Talking to you can feel like talking to five people! And like—I-I mean that in a good way! It's like you're a living party! And I'm not exactly the biggest fan of parties and stuff but like—you're the kind of party that makes life worth living. And also…You’re…” One half of Cecilia’s brain screamed at her to not say this next part. The other half already cut the brakes.
“You’re just…so fucking cute! You’re adorable! And I don’t mean it in the ‘awwwww look at the widdle baby’ way, I mean it. I mean it in like, the “Oh my fucking God, you’re so fucking beautiful” way. And also—and also, you know why I never let you into my room? Its because I hold on to every single drawing you make that I can get my hands on. I love them so fucking much, I have some of them posted on my wall. They’re such a natural and adorable way you express yourself. Like, just…” Cecilia didn’t realize it, but tears started to slowly well up in her eyes. The reason why was immediately answered.
“I…. I love how much you wear your emotions on your sleeve. I wish….I wish I could do that.” The finest crack in her voice echoed with those last words.
Another minute of silence passed. But this time, there was no tension to be found anywhere; neither outwards nor inwards. Following it, Cecilia heard the door unlock behind her.
Upon getting up, she knew Gigi was going to give her a hug. She didn’t, however, expect it to come with enough force to knock both girls down to the floor.
“OW! FUCKING-You could’ve warned m-“
Gigi clung to Cecilia, hugging her with almost as much strength as she’d use to manhandle some of the criminals she’s caught. She used the Automaton’s chest to cover up her messy blubbering. If this was any other day, Cecilia would’ve scolded her to hell and back for getting snot on her. Instead, tears welled up within her eyes once more.
“Yeah.” She softly said; nuzzling Gigi’s hair, planting pecks on it, wrapping her arms around her waist, softly scratching and caressing her back. “Just like this. I wish I could cry like this too.”
The five minutes that followed felt like a loving blessing from the Gods themselves. With Raora and Elizabeth out, they had this moment all to themselves. In this moment, they had the world all to themselves. For Gigi, she finally had Cecilia all to herself. Neither soul wanted this to end. Cecilia continued to cuddle her girlfriend. As she played with her hair between her fingers, she noticed the doodle on the back of her wrist again.
“Hey Gigi?”
“Yeah?”
She sniffled and locked eyes her girlfriend.
“Next time you wanna doodle on me, just ask. I’ll say yes every time.”
“But, I want my doodles to be a surprise.”
Their faces drew closer.
“I can just close my eyes you know. Like this~”
“I suppose. Yeah...I’ll do that.“
And then it happened.
It was awkward at first. Cecilia knew she would later half-regret not waiting for Gigi to blow her nose first, but she couldn’t hold herself back any longer. It wasn’t that special, the feeling of being connected sparked a drive between them, but that was it. If anything, the hug felt like the best part between them.
“Your mouth tastes like coffee, brush your teeth.” Cecilia teased as she got back up.
“I JUST DID?! LIKE, TWENTY MINUTES AGO!” Gigi snapped back, jumping to her feet. The emotions she wore on her sleeve were even stronger now, causing another vibration within her girlfriend.
“Well you need to do it again! Or I’m not kissing you again.”
“AND WHAT ABOUT YOU?! YOUR MOUTH TASTES LIKE….LIKE…..”
“Like what?~”
The Automaton and the Gremlin continued to banter for the rest of the morning.
And then for the rest of their lives, Gigi fulfilled Cecilia’s request.
Surprise after surprise, Cecilia received her girlfriend’s every expression.
Be it on her shoulders.
Her arms.
Her hands.
Her thighs.
Her knees.
Her feet.
Her cheeks.
Her forehead.
Her back.
Or even her Watch. The very heart that ticked the flow of every gear, every electric current and every drop of magic within the Automaton's body.
And then Gigi noticed it.
She woke up one day, admired and internally screamed at how cute her girlfriend’s sleeping face was, and then placed her hand on her key to wind her up.
And there it was on the back of her wrist.
A doodle.