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Clarisse was sitting with Silena in the strawberry fields when it suddenly struck her how normal of an occurrence this was. If you told her two months ago that she would be spending the majority of her free time with a certain daughter of Aphrodite she would've called you crazy. Yet here she was sitting with Silena in one of their free afternoons. And the craziest part was how normal moments like this had become. Silena somehow always managed to find her, grab her by the hand, and pull her away to some quiet place where it would be just the two of them. And for some reason Clarisse had always followed, even from the very first time.
Gods she would follow that girl anywhere.
So now here they were with Clarisse leaning back on her hands and Silena laying on the ground beside her. They had each talked about their day and the current drama in their cabins and now things had fallen into a comfortable silence. Silena was looking at the sky (maybe cloud watching?) with one arm tucked under her head and the other laid gently across her stomach. The sun was shining on her face, lighting up her features. But not so much that she had to squint. A light breeze rustled her loosely curled hair but somehow never blew it into her perfectly glossed lips. Clarisse didn't understand how even the forces of nature seemed to be purposefully highlighting her beauty. She chalked it up to some weird Aphrodite magic and tried very hard not to stare.
She failed. But thankfully Silena's eyes remained on the sky so she didn't notice. Or maybe she was just used to it. As the moment went on Clarisse felt a question form on the edges of her mind.
"Silena?" The other girl turned her head to look at her immediately.
"Mhm?"
"Do you believe in soulmates?" Clarisse almost winced after she said it. It seemed such a dumb childish question but after weeks of it popping into her mind she had decided she needed an answer.
Silena's eyes went back to the sky as a contemplating look fell over her face.
"I suppose I should. I mean knowing that the Fates exist and gods who like to meddle with love lives. But..." She paused for a while like she was trying to find the right words. "I don't know. I like to believe we have the main role in forming our connections. Like maybe fate is responsible for drawing two people to each other but after that... it's up to us to turn that into something"
"Us?" Clarisse asked dumbly.
Silena turned back to look at her, laughing "Well not us specifically. Like just people in general"
Clarisse nodded. What Silena said made a lot of sense and maybe was the reason of the strange pull she always felt towards the girl.
Suddenly Silena shot up into a sitting position. "Wait why were you asking? Did you meet someone?!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
Clarisse suppressed an eye roll, instead letting her face slide into a sly smile. "Wouldn't you like to know Lover Girl"
Silena laughed gently, shaking her head. But when she looked back up at Clarisse her eyes were sincere.
"I would actually" She said softly.
"Why" Clarisse mumbled out before she could stop herself.
"Because I care about you silly" Silena smiled at her. Her real smile. The one that lit up her face brighter than the sun ever could. "And I care what happens to you and what's going on in your life. It actually makes me really happy to hear you talk about things like that"
Clarisse almost forgot to breathe. She was too focused on this stupid girl who cared more about her than anyone should. Unfortunately Silena didn't seem to notice her slightly panicked state because she kept talking.
"Also..." She hesitated for a moment "It would be nice for someone else to see how amazing you are"
Clarisse was staring. She didn't mean to, but it suddenly felt impossible to tear her eyes away from Silena. Silena with her gentle smile, and her freckle dusted face, and her eyes. Deep blue flecked with bits of teal when the light hit them. Although now Clarisse noticed they were twinged with sadness. She didn't understand why. She could feel the way she was staring and it made her wonder how Silena could ever think there was someone else.
"Well um...I wouldn't be too excited... It's uh no one new"
Silena's eyes snapped back to hers. Clarisse couldn't miss how they flickered with hope.
"So...there is someone?" She asked. Her usual calm exterior falling. Clarisse didn't think she had ever seen her this nervous before.
"Maybe" She glanced away in an attempt to focus on anything other than Silena's eyes.
"And... it's someone you already know?"
Clarisse nodded glancing back at the other girl. They were close to each other. Much closer than she had realized.
Silena's eyes were searching her face. Clarisse could tell she had another question she was holding back. Clarisse could hear her heart beat in her ears. They were almost nose to nose and she had no clue which one of them had leaned in. Maybe it was both.
"Silena I-"
"Oh for fuck's sake just kiss me"
Clarisse wasn't sure if she was more shocked about hearing Silena swear or about the fact that she had automatically followed her request. She closed the distance between them before Silena had even finished her statement.
Their lips met and Clarisse thought that maybe Silena had been incorrect in her earlier thinking. Sure they were meant to meet, but they were definitely meant to kiss. Their friendship had been one of the best things to ever happen to Clarisse, but somehow this was infinity better.
Silena's lipgloss tasted like strawberries and she kissed her like they'd done it a thousand times before. Clarisse pulled Silena closer delighting in how perfectly their bodies fit together.
After a moment Silena pulled away to look at her, breathless, and wide-eyed, and grinning. Clarisse didn't let go of her, she never wanted to ever again.
"So this is why you were asking about soulmates"
Clarisse responded by kissing her again, drawing a giggle out of Silena. "All I know is we were definitely supposed to meet" she muttered against Silena's lips.
"Mhm we can get into that later, right now you need to go back to kissing me" Clarisse obliged, marveling in how Silena's lips could already feel so much like home.
She understood now. Why she had always felt drawn to Silena, why she felt so safe, and why she had been the first person Clarisse had ever truly opened up to. A thought echoed distantly through her mind.
Half of my soul, as the poets say.
Yes that was it. She had no clue were the thought had come from (probably something from one of the dumb romance books Silena had read and told her about) but it felt right.
She's half of my soul.