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Chaos, Bae thought, was going to be the death of her one day.
She's being dramatic, she knows. Chaos can't truly harm her, not the way it can everyone else. But she looks at her friends, so happy together, so good for each other, and knows in her heart that her aspect is unwelcome. Knows that the small, unpredictable moments of everyday life will always conspire against her and her family, despite her best efforts.
It's at a Halloween party when Gigi knocks over one of Calli's frying pans. It falls to the ground with a crash that has heads turning and Mumei giving a strangled yelp from the opposite counter. Bae watches Gigi pause for all of two seconds to notice the loose and dangling lime green belt around her arm that makes up part of her ridiculous costume, before falling to the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter.
And really, the image is so ridiculous, with Gigi a pile of multicolour giggles on Calli's kitchen floor and sheer indignation plastered all over Mumei's face, that Bae can't help but collapse into laughs.
"You're paying to replace that if it's dented!" comes Calli's voice, dripping with amusement, and another wave of giggles rushes through her friends. And then Mumei cracks too, grinning madly as Gigi heaves herself back to the counter, babbling some incoherent apology along with what might be a promise to replace the pan or might be an insult towards Calli's kitchenware, before grabbing the bag of marshmallows she had been reaching for and bouncing back to the couch in satisfaction.
She catches Bae's eye and wiggles her eyebrows, far too aggressively to be sexy. Still, Bae feels a warmth run through her, leaving her cheeks red as she winks back.
The next time is much less funny, even if Kiara laughs about it afterwards. It's hard to burn a phoenix after all, and when Gigi sprints around a corner of the Justice headquarters with a lit blowtorch, it's easy for Bae to flick it out of her hand before it even begins to singe Kiara's heat-resistant shirt.
Gigi breaks out into distraught apologies, her hands hovering in front of her like she isn't sure what to do with them, before a light whack on her head shuts her up.
"Calm down, you're not going to burn me with that little thing," Kiara reassures her, grinning as she hugs Gigi tightly. "My flames get way hotter than that anyway. Come back next time with a nuclear reactor and we can talk."
Gigi giggles wetly. "Is that a challenge?"
Bae quickly cuts in with a "No! No stealing nuclear reactors!" But her wide smile betrays her firm tone, as Gigi gives a happy squeak at the sight of her and rushes to hug her too. And after she calms down and offers to lead them to their scheduled meeting with Liz, Bae allows herself just a moment to wallow in the feeling of completeness that comes so naturally with Gigi around.
This time, it's very much Bae's fault. She really should have known better than to let Gigi try something called 'the knife game', even if the other girl had assured her it was "fiiiiiiiine, and what's life without some danger anyway?"
She certainly should have shut it down the moment she learned what 'the knife game' actually was, but watching as Gigi stabs down between each finger splayed out on the table with impressive precision she's too transfixed to intervene. It's beautiful, a display of the practice and skill Bae knows she possesses but so rarely shows to anyone outside Justice.
Then suddenly, a tug from her aspect. A writhing in the deepest parts of her being, subtle enough to almost go unnoticed, but it snaps her out of her reverie moments before a hiss of pain and a splash of red. Immediately, panic.
"Crap, what did you do," hands flailing, Bae forces her rising horror back down. "Sit there, let me look at it." She grabs the first aid kit by her side, thankful that she had thought to grab one, and goes to take a closer look at the injury.
"Ehehe, that doesn't usually happen anymore." Bae whips her head up with a glare at the 'anymore' before Gigi continues, waving the rapidly reddening finger around, "Look, it's super shallow, just kinda messy. Told you, it's fine!"
"Yeah, and I'm still gonna take a look at it, gimme that," she retorts, carefully grabbing her hand and bringing it down to the table to clean, wiping it down and covering it in a Band-Aid to match the ones that always seemed to populate her legs. And as she does, Gigi going on about how it barely even hurt, Bae was overreacting, she's struck by the sudden intimacy. Leaned over her hand, feeling the calluses and tiny scars criss-crossing her long, thin fingers, close enough that she can feel the other girl's slight spittle on her ear, she looks up, just for a moment, and meets her eyes. Gigi trails off, a dusting of red on her cheeks as she stares, unreadable. It is her that breaks the trance, looking back down at her injured hand in Bae's, and giggles nervously.
"Your hand is really cold, is that like a rat thing or-"
"Oi! I'll show you cold hands!"
Bae shoves her hands into Gigi's face, and lets the resulting squeal wash over the love and contentment she feels in that moment.
Chaos, Gigi thought, was going to be the death of her one day.
The worst part is, she doesn't even know if Bae is doing it on purpose. Every time Gigi sees her, she's flashing that all-too-warm smile at her, whipping the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. She wants to tell Bae what she does to her each and every moment they're together, but she catches the smirk on her face every so often, and can't shake the feeling that she knows.
Really, Liz should know to lock her doors for important meetings. When Gigi barges into her office to see her deep in serious-looking conversation, she blithely ignores her glare, immediately forgetting what she came in for to address the others in the room.
"Bae, Ina! 'Sup, 'sup, you here for some top secret stuff?" She prances across the room to lean over the back of the couch they're on.
"Yes they are, Gigi," Liz grits out, "Which means you have no need to know about it. Now if you would kindly leave, thank you."
Bae snorts. "Lighten up, Liz, it's not some big secret. And besides, she won't tell anyone, will you Gigi?"
Gigi shoots back a "Mhm, mhm!" She's nodding maybe a little too vigorously, but it seems to be enough for Ina, who turns back to Liz as if she had never been interrupted.
Gigi catches some tidbits about fire magic and the Ancient Ones, but mostly she's distracted trying to burrow her way into a seat next to Bae, pressed between her and the armrest. Bae shuffles over just slightly, leaving Gigi to chase the contact, leaning heavily on her shoulder. She doesn't turn, but the smile painted in warm colours across her face is worth a hundred irritated looks from Liz.
Bae isn't even present this time, but then again, what does presence mean to someone that is Chaos itself? Gigi certainly feels her, in the winds and waves crashing violently against the rocky beach as twin demon dogs scamper arond the odd, blackened stone formations.
"Thanks for doing this for them," comes Shiori's voice, pitched slightly to be heard over the gale. "I admit I was surprised that Bae pointed us to you for help, but this place is just as perfect as you promised."
Gigi grins widely. "Well, you know I hate to say I told you so..." She giggles at Shiori's deadpan look before shivering with glee as they're buffeted by another strong gust. "I mean, it's not like I don't get it. Of course some cozy park isn't going to be enough for them. They are half demon, after all, somewhere like this must be paradise for them."
Shiori gives her a curious look. "Odd that you seem just as at home here. You don't have any demon heritage, at least as far as I know. Unless...?"
"Nah, fully human over here. I dunno, I guess I'm just used to it." And isn't that an exhilarating thought, that this is something she gets to be accustomed to. For a moment, she hesitates, wonders if she really deserves all this.
And then the wind whistles in a way that sounds so much like a familiar, squeaking laugh that she can't bring herself to really care. She cackles right back, throwing her arms out and giving herself up to the world, to Bae, all around her.
It's just the two of them again, Gigi laying with her cheek pressed against the dirty karaoke cubicle table, Bae looking dangerously close to joining her. Gigi is still adamant that it makes no sense that someone who is essentially a god can get drunk, but Bae's clearly deteriorating state doesn't seem to care about what she thinks.
Nor does Bae herself, for that matter, who has entirely ignored all her good song suggestions in favour of one of the worst renditions of a Flo Rida song she's ever heard. Gigi lets her get as far through the song as she can handle before lurching over to the karaoke controls to turn it off and all but dragging the other girl back to the couch with her.
Bae is predictably defiant. "Oi, if you're gonna cut my incredible singing, you better have a damn good follow up yourself-"
Gigi cuts her off with a finger over her mouth that is really more of a slap across the jaw and manhandles her onto her back on the couch. Bae looks distinctly unamused until Gigi climbs up herself, straddling her. Then, her expression breaks into surprise, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
Gigi plants her hands either side of Bae's head. "You," she manages, "need to stop being so cute."
Bae blinks, then turns her head away. "You're drunk, Gigi."
Gigi grabs Bae's head with both hands, turning it back towards her as she shakes her own head violently. She's honestly surprised at how clear-headed she feels – but then again, it isn't really surprising at all, is it? She meets Bae's eyes, and sees in them an understanding. She's the same, after all.
Gigi doesn't bother with words. She sees relief, then hunger, then she doesn't see anything at all, because she's too busy with her lips on Bae's, and her hands in Bae's hair, and the room is dark and neon-lit and it smells like cheap beer and bad bar food and Bae. It's messy and uncomfortable and uncoordinated.
It's perfect.
Chaos, Bae thinks, is going to be the death of her one day.
One day soon, if Gigi has anything to say about it, and given that she usually has all too much to say about everything, Bae isn't liking her chances. She's stolen all the blankets, again, and she clearly isn't waking up for another few hours, again, so Bae is going to have to make breakfast, again.
She doesn't really mind.
She extricates herself, gently to avoid waking her up, and pads over to the door, looking back at her as she opens the bedroom door. From the bed comes a single, loud snore.
Bae can't keep the smile off her face as she closes the door.