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Mary was in the gambling hall for all of five minutes before she was challenged.
It was a girl she’d never even seen before. She was high in rank, dangerously high, close to rising from top twenty. Mary accepted her challenge with an excited grin. She thought it would be fun, playing with someone who seemed to be skilled enough to rank so high. It had been a while since she had a challenging game.
They didn’t sit in the middle of the gambling hall, but rather off to the side. Cards were shuffled and the deck was distributed evenly. A game of slapjack—aggressive, based on reflex. They each removed their rings, placing them in a shared pile on the table to ensure there was no cheating. Someone could easily be cut or injured by one. Mary tucked the ring that rested on her left ring finger into her blazer pocket. She didn't trust it on the table with the rest.
It was special, pure gold delicately curled around a piece of ruby. Gifted to her by Riri on their anniversary, a promise to love her eternally. The girl had eyed it curiously, but didn’t say anything.
The game was over as soon as it started, both of them having remarkable reaction times. The girl, who Mary had learned was named Deena, had taken the win. They both agreed to do best out of three, the initial game being a boring win. Deena even agreed to let her first win not be counted, a clean slate.
All in all, Mary didn't have a problem with this girl. In fact, she actually enjoyed playing with her. She played clean and fair, while also giving Mary a challenge. When she won two out of three rounds, Mary found she wasn’t disappointed, handing over the winnings without a fuss. Deena suggested another game, identical to the first. Best of three, the winner takes all.
It was when Mary had begun a win streak when Deena had started to gain a problem with her. She began slapping the deck harder. Whenever Mary’s hand was caught underneath hers, she’d be the victim of her aggressiveness. Her hand eventually became red at the constant harsh impact.
When Mary won two out of three this time, Deena suggested they play again, raising the stakes. Mary reluctantly agreed, being cautious of the sudden switch of behavior.
Then came the comments. They were meant to throw Mary off her game, distract her from the pairs in the deck. They were stupid, weak argument starters, ones Mary didn't fall for. Deena ended up distracting herself more than anyone. Mary won, scooping the chips to her side of the table. She watched as Deena’s name slipped to the thirties.
“Again,” she demanded. “One more, and that’s it. I swear.” Deena demanded for more chips from a housepet, pushing them into the middle of the table. Mary agreed. This was the last one. Any more and she’s sure all will go to shit.
Deena would slap the deck with the intention to hurt, Mary wincing upon the impact.
“What was that ring you hid away?” Deena asked in between them placing their cards back and forth. “From someone special?”
“You could say that,” Mary said. If only she knew how special Riri was to her.
“From the vice president I'm assuming?”
Mary simply hummed, sparing her a short glance. It wasn’t like her and Riri hid their relationship away, but they weren't screaming it from the rooftops either. Everyone knew that Riri was Mary’s and Mary was Riri’s without fail.
“It looks expensive, you get a lot of gifts like that?”
Mary slapped the stack, identifying a pair and adding the cards to her deck.
“You probably do, dating a Timurov and all. I'm sure that's what you expect anyway.”
Mary halted her movements, setting down her neat pile of cards. “What are you saying?”
“Why’d you stop playing the game?” Deena asked, giving a sly smile.
“What are you saying?” Mary repeated. She tried to control her tone. If Deena got a rise out of her then she’d be giving her what she wanted.
“She’s kind of like a sugar mommy to you isn’t she? That's what everyone says around here.”
Mary stood, she wasn’t going to entertain this. “We’re done.”
“Oh come on, everyone knows you slept with her last year so she could give you money to climb the ranks faster.”
Mary could only grip the edge of the table, tense. Did people really think that? That she didn’t work for her spot? That she’d use Riri for money? This was her first time ever hearing of a rumor like this, and it made her blood boil.
It made her angry, but also incredibly self-conscious about the sudden eyes on her. People snickered, closing in on the table to see what she’d say, how she’d defend herself. Mary opened her mouth, making a feeble attempt at a snarky remark. Nothing came out, only a small, pathetic sound of desperation. She hated feeling like this. Defenseless.
Deena stood, hands on her hips like she was satisfied with herself. She laughed straight into Mary’s face, only making the lump in her throat larger.
Mary turned sharply, her long braids almost whipped the girl in the face. Deena had the audacity to pull at one of them in the midst of it, eliciting a loud gasp from Mary before she mindlessly swung her fist in a rush of adrenaline. She hit her square in the nose, the girl holding it as blood trickled down her chin.
She screamed. “Fuck- are you crazy!?” She pushed Mary, causing her to stumble back. Mary didn’t let up, taking a step up to Deena's face.
Mary wasn’t one to fight over such little words. But these words spoke of her relationship in such a distasteful manner. She was used to being talked about, being laughed at. But throwing Riri into the mix? Saying things that inherently weren’t true to win a petty gamble? It infuriated her.
“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before putting your hands on me.” She snarled, nails digging into her palms. Her blood rushing, her breathing heavy.
Mary was the one met with a fist this time, splitting her lip. The metallic taste filled her tastebuds as she instinctively grazed her tongue over it to soothe the sting.
Mary retaliated just as hard. More hair was pulled, more punches were thrown. Mary never backed down from any of the attacks. She would rather be covered in black and blue than be known for running from a fight. She’d already gone through the humiliation of falling from the top, then fighting tooth and nail to climb back up. Just for it to amount to nothing, for people to think she was some kind of whore, to think she didn’t love her girlfriend on a level they’d never understand.
She wanted people to know she was a force to be reckoned with. To know that if you fucked with Mary Davis this is what it’d get you.
The other girl never let up either, matching Mary’s energy. She was fairly good, she had to admit.
An inevitable crowd built around them, egging them on. People yelled, bets were placed. Mary drowned it out, hoping the crowd would psych out her opponent.
It didn’t. It really only made her more cocky, smiling as if this were enjoyable, blood staining her teeth, and that only pissed Mary off more. So when she found an opening—Deena wiping the blood from her still dripping nose—she pushed her, harder than she had before, making the girl let out a mewl of pain as her back hit the ground harshly. Deena’s breath stuttered, the wind having been knocked out of her.
Mary didn’t care. She straddled her, grabbing her jaw, forcing eye contact. She leaned in close. From here she could really see the damage she had done, Deena’s nose taking on a completely new shape.
“If I hear you spreading that rumor, saying that I slept with Riri to get on the council, I’ll beat your ass again.”
The girl pushed at Mary’s face, moaning out in pain.
Her grip tightened, ignoring her protests. “Do you hear me? I’ll beat your ass again and I won’t hold back.”
Deena pulled at her hair again, hard, making any attempt to get the girl off of her. Mary winced but didn’t loosen her grip for anything in the world.
“Say it, say you understand,” she spat.
“Fuck you!”
“Fucking say it!” Silence fell throughout the crowd as the girl burst into tears, still weakly pushing at Mary. Not an ounce of sympathy was felt for the girl writhing underneath her weight. She didn’t think twice about talking shit about Riri, so why should Mary think twice about this?
Good, she thought, cry. Feel what I felt when I fell to the bottom. Helpless, pathetic, stuck. May no one come to save you. May your spirit become so crushed you don’t even think about showing your face around here anymore.
Deena’s pushes became weak, choking on her own blood mixed with tears. Mary reveled in the sight.
A pair of firm arms were wrapped around Mary, pulling her off the girl underneath her. She flailed for a second, trying to push whoever had her in a tight grip away before hearing a familiar voice whispered in her ear.
“You’re done, you got her.” Riri’s mask brushed against Mary’s ear as she spoke her near silent message. Mary shook in her arms, stumbling as she was suddenly put back on her feet, the adrenaline still pulsing through her veins. Riri pushed through the crowd, leading Mary away from the chaos. Everyone parted for the vice president, staring. Mary wasn't ashamed, in fact, she felt far from it. She held her head up high, ignoring the looks thrown at her. Even if they stung.
Her hands continuously flexed at her sides. Curling into tight fists then going limp, Mary’s attempt at grounding herself. She’d practically disassociated the entire walk to Riri’s dorm, only having noticed where they were when Riri ushered her through the door.
Mary was sat on the edge of the bed, left alone as Riri disappeared into the bathroom.
It was then that what she had done really hit her. She beat on that girl in public, then humiliated her in front of everyone.
She stared at her still shaking hands, covered in blood. Blood that wasn’t her own. Her ears were still ringing, and the metallic taste on her tongue caused her to grimace.
Riri wasn’t gone for long. She kneeled in front of Mary, a first aid kit now in her hands. Her mask was discarded, the worry on her face on blatant display. Riri set the first aid kit down upon noticing the red staining her hands. “Come to the bathroom.” She stood, holding Mary’s wrists gently to pull her from the bed.
It was in the bathroom mirror where Mary saw what she looked like in the aftermath. Her split lip had deep red gushing from it. A large bruise was forming just below her right eye. She thinks she had been punched there. She can’t really remember, it all happened so fast. Riri rolled up Mary’s sleeves, placing her hands into the bowl of the sink before letting warm water trickle onto her palms.
Mary hissed, turning her hands. Her knuckles were split and swollen. Riri carefully scrubbed the blood from her hands, mindful of her injuries. Tears pricked at her eyes, threatening to fall. The adrenaline had worn off. The pain felt all too real now. A headache was forming from the constant tugging that was done on her hair. An intense throbbing pain, making her eyes squeeze shut.
“I didn’t mean to cause a scene.” She said as Riri patted her hands dry.
“Tell me what happened,” Riri said in that tone reserved just for her. The one that made her melt, the one that made her feel so undeserving of someone so good to her.
“It was stupid. She was saying things about.. us. She said that I slept with you to get you to give me money.” Mary bit her lip, momentarily forgetting about the gash there. She winced once her teeth came in contact with the wound.
Riri hugged her, holding Mary’s head to her chest, careful of the side where the bruise was. “You know that I don’t believe what people say about us.”
“I know, that’s why I said it was stupid. I just don’t like when other people talk about you like they know you.”
Riri pulled back, “let me take care of you.”
“You always take care of me. I should be able to take care of you. I should be able to give you gold rings and spoil you.” Mary said, removing herself from her embrace. She hated not being able to give her girlfriend as much as she gave her. Her girlfriend shouldn't have to clean her bloody knuckles after a fight. She hated making Riri worry.
“My love,” Riri wrapped her arms around Mary’s waist, forcing her closer. “Taking care of you is an honor. I don't need gifts in return, I only need your love to be satisfied. You fought someone in my name. Isn't that enough to prove you’d give me as much as I give you if you could?”
“I would kiss you right now if my lip wasn't split in two,” Mary chuckled wetly.
Riri gave her a kiss on the forehead instead, lightly running her hands along her sides. Eventually they returned to the room. Riri cleaned her wounds with all the care in the world. She wrapped her knuckles, pressing soft kisses along the ridge of them once covered. She gave her clothes to change out of her uniform, something random Mary had left in her closet from their previous sleepovers. When she was done, they lay entangled in bed together.
“Tell me, was Kira mad?” Mary asked, curious.
“More like shocked. She didn’t think you’d swing at her.” Riri recalls Kira audibly gasping once the first punch was landed. She quickly sent Riri to stop them, as if she wasn’t already moving at the sight of someone putting their hands on Mary.
“Glad I could surprise her then. Were you shocked?”
“I was angry from the moment I noticed you wincing from her slapping your hand. I was already mentally preparing what I would do in return. But you seemed to have done enough yourself.”
Mary let her hand run along Riri’s collarbone, having snuck her hand underneath her collar. “Did I look hot at least?” She asked, her voice dropping low and suggestive.
“More than you know,” Riri whispered, peppering kisses into her hair.
Mary groaned. “Why’d she have to punch me in my lip? Seriously it could’ve been anywhere else. I just want to kiss my girlfriend.”
Riri’s kisses trailed down to her jaw, earning whimpers from Mary. “It’ll heal. For now, you’ll get kisses everywhere else.”
“This is so unfair,” she whined, “I beat someone up for my girlfriend just to not be able to worship her after.”
“Let me worship you instead. A token of my thanks.”
“Whatever you want,” Mary exhaled, watching as her kisses trailed lower and lower.
Maybe she should fight people more often.