Work Text:
Lara was so beyond done.
Like not just “ugh I’m tired,” but the kind of tired where your soul feels like it needs to be unplugged and rebooted. Rehearsal had gone on forever, practice before that had been brutal, and somewhere in between she was pretty sure she’d forgotten how to exist as a normal human being.
She dropped onto the studio floor dramatically, limbs spread out like she had just been defeated in battle.
“I’m actually deceased,” she groaned into the hardwood.
From across the room, Sophia didn’t even look up at first. She was checking something on her phone, probably schedules or notes because she was annoyingly responsible like that. Leader behavior. Always on top of everything.
“Lara, you say that every time,” Sophia said calmly.
“Because every time it’s true,” Lara shot back, lifting her head just enough to glare. “If I pass away right now, tell my family I loved them and also tell management they’re fake for this schedule.”
That got a small laugh.
Sophia finally looked over, and there was that look. The one she always had when she was pretending to be strict but was actually soft. It was subtle, but Lara had noticed it. Maybe too much.
“You’re being dramatic,” Sophia said, walking over.
“I am in pain,” Lara insisted. “Like actual physical pain. My back? Gone. My shoulders? Cancelled. My life? Over.”
Sophia stood over her for a second, arms crossed, studying her like she was trying to decide something.
Then she sighed.
“Sit up.”
Lara blinked. “What?”
“I said sit up,” Sophia repeated, already crouching down behind her.
Suspicious.
Very suspicious.
But Lara was also too tired to argue, so she pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing as her back protested.
“This better not be you telling me to stretch again because I swear—”
“Relax,” Sophia cut in.
And then—
Her hands landed on Lara’s shoulders.
Lara froze.
Not dramatically this time. Like actually froze.
Because okay. Sure. Teammates touched each other all the time. High fives, fixing outfits, helping with choreography. Normal stuff.
But this?
This was… different.
Sophia’s hands were warm. Firm but careful. She started pressing into Lara’s shoulders, slow and steady, like she actually knew what she was doing.
“...Oh,” Lara breathed out before she could stop herself.
“Too much?” Sophia asked.
“No,” Lara said quickly. “No, that’s—wow. That’s actually—yeah.”
Sophia hummed softly, continuing.
“You’re super tense,” she said. “You need to take care of your body more.”
Lara let out a weak laugh. “Oh yeah, totally. I’ll just schedule that between rehearsals, practice, filming, and existential crises.”
Sophia snorted.
And then her thumbs pressed into a spot that made Lara’s brain literally shut off for a second.
“OH MY—okay—yeah—right there—don’t move—”
“I’m not moving,” Sophia said, clearly amused now.
Lara dropped her head forward, completely giving in at this point.
“This is life changing,” she mumbled. “If you ever quit, I’m following you just for this.”
“Good to know my value is in my massage skills,” Sophia said dryly.
“It absolutely is.”
There was a pause.
Not awkward. Just… quiet.
Sophia’s hands kept working, moving from Lara’s shoulders to the base of her neck, and Lara could feel herself slowly melting into the floor.
Her brain, which had been running at 100 miles per hour all day, finally started to slow down.
And then, unfortunately, it started noticing things.
Like how close Sophia was.
Like how her hands felt.
Like how her voice sounded when she spoke quietly.
Lara swallowed.
Okay.
Cool.
This was fine.
Totally normal.
“Better?” Sophia asked softly.
Lara nodded, then realized Sophia couldn’t see that.
“Yeah,” she said. “A lot better.”
Sophia didn’t stop.
Her hands slowed, though, less focused on fixing tension and more… gentle now.
Which did not help Lara’s suddenly very aware brain.
“You should rest more,” Sophia said.
“You sound like my mom,” Lara muttered.
“Maybe your mom is right.”
“Don’t say that, it hurts my pride.”
Sophia laughed quietly.
And for some reason, that made Lara’s chest feel weird.
Not bad weird.
Just… something.
They stayed like that for a bit longer than necessary.
Neither of them said anything.
Eventually, Sophia’s hands stilled.
But she didn’t pull away right away.
And Lara—
Lara definitely noticed that.
She turned her head slightly, just enough to glance back.
Sophia was already looking at her.
Oh.
Oh.
That—
That felt like something.
The kind of something you don’t really have a name for yet but you know it’s about to ruin your life a little.
“Uh,” Lara said, very intelligently.
Sophia didn’t say anything.
But she didn’t look away either.
And then—
“Do you want to get food later?” Sophia asked.
Casual.
Too casual.
Like nothing just happened.
Lara blinked. “Food?”
“Yeah. Dinner,” Sophia said. “You need actual energy if you’re going to survive tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Lara said.
Right.
Dinner.
Normal.
“Yeah,” she added quickly. “Yeah, I’m down.”
Sophia nodded once, finally pulling her hands away.
And wow, Lara immediately missed them.
Which was—
Concerning.
Very concerning.
“Cool,” Sophia said, standing up. “I’ll text you.”
“Yeah,” Lara said again, watching her walk away.
And her brain?
Fully gone.
---
Dinner was supposed to be normal.
That was the plan.
Simple. Chill. Just food.
Except it wasn’t.
Because somehow, everything felt… charged.
They sat across from each other at first, talking about random things. Practice, schedules, dumb stuff they’d seen online.
But then they started laughing more.
Then they started talking about deeper things.
Then at some point, Lara ended up sitting next to Sophia instead of across from her, and neither of them acknowledged how that happened.
It just… did.
And then there were moments.
Small ones.
Like their hands brushing when they both reached for something.
Or Sophia leaning in closer when Lara was talking.
Or the way Lara kept forgetting what she was saying mid-sentence because Sophia was looking at her like that.
It was a lot.
And neither of them addressed it.
Until—
“You’re staring,” Sophia said.
Lara choked slightly. “I am not.”
“You are.”
“I’m literally not.”
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
Lara folded instantly.
“Okay maybe a little,” she admitted.
Sophia smiled.
And that was it.
That was the moment everything kind of shifted.
Because suddenly they weren’t pretending anymore.
The air changed.
Lara felt it.
Sophia definitely felt it.
And neither of them moved away.
“Lara,” Sophia said quietly.
“Yeah?”
“You’re… really obvious sometimes.”
“Oh my god,” Lara groaned, covering her face. “Don’t say that. That’s so embarrassing.”
Sophia laughed softly.
“I don’t mean it in a bad way.”
“Still,” Lara muttered. “I have a reputation to maintain.”
“You? A reputation?” Sophia teased.
“Yes,” Lara said, sitting up straighter. “I’m cool. Mysterious. Untouchable.”
Sophia leaned closer.
“Untouchable?” she repeated.
Lara’s brain short-circuited.
“Okay wait—no—when you say it like that—”
Sophia didn’t move back.
And now they were really close.
Like… really close.
Lara could feel her heart starting to race.
This was—
Not normal.
Not teammate behavior.
Not “just dinner” behavior.
But she didn’t move away.
Neither did Sophia.
And then—
“Can I?” Sophia asked.
Soft.
Careful.
Lara didn’t even process the question fully before she nodded.
“Yeah.”
And then Sophia leaned in.
It wasn’t rushed.
It wasn’t messy.
It was just—
Simple.
Soft.
And somehow that made it hit ten times harder.
Lara forgot how to think.
Forgot how to breathe for a second.
Everything just… paused.
And when they pulled back—
They both just kind of stared at each other.
Processing.
“Okay,” Lara said faintly. “So that just happened.”
“Yeah,” Sophia said.
“Cool.”
“Cool.”
They both laughed a little.
Nervous.
But not in a bad way.
Just… new.
“Do we—” Lara started.
“I don’t know,” Sophia admitted.
“Same.”
Pause.
Then—
“Do you regret it?” Sophia asked.
Lara blinked.
“Not even a little,” she said immediately.
Sophia smiled.
“Good.”
And somehow, that was all they needed.
---
The next morning?
Chaos.
Absolute chaos.
Lara woke up and immediately remembered everything.
The dinner.
The moment.
The kiss.
The way Sophia had said her name.
She buried her face in her pillow.
“Oh my god,” she mumbled.
This was—
A lot.
Like a LOT a lot.
Because now what?
Were they… something?
Was that a one-time thing?
Were they going to talk about it?
Avoid it?
Pretend it didn’t happen?
Her brain was spiraling.
Which is exactly why she ended up at Starbucks later that day with Dani and Manon.
She needed emotional support.
And caffeine.
Mostly emotional support.
“I’m telling you,” Dani was saying, sipping her drink, “if they mess up our schedule again, I’m actually going to—”
She stopped mid-sentence.
Because Lara wasn’t listening.
At all.
She was staring at her phone.
Blushing.
Smiling.
Typing.
Deleting.
Typing again.
Manon slowly lowered her drink.
“Oh,” she said.
Dani followed her gaze.
“Oh,” she echoed.
They both looked at each other.
Then back at Lara.
Then back at each other.
“Oh, this is serious,” Dani whispered.
Manon nodded. “This is not just a text. This is a situation.”
Meanwhile, Lara was fully spiraling over a single message.
Sophia: what are you doing later?
Lara stared at it like it was a life-altering question.
Because it was.
Obviously.
nothing much, why?
Deleted it.
Too casual.
depends, what are YOU doing?
Deleted that.
Too obvious.
idk yet lol
Sent it.
Immediately regretted everything.
“Why are you like this,” she whispered to herself.
Her phone buzzed.
She froze.
Dani leaned across the table. “Who is it.”
“No one.”
“Liar.”
“Stop.”
Manon was already trying to peek. “You’re smiling.”
“I am not smiling.”
“You are literally glowing,” Dani said.
“I hate both of you.”
“Open the message,” Manon said.
Lara hesitated.
Then did it.
Sophia: dinner again? 👀
Lara’s brain exploded.
Dinner.
Again.
Okay.
Cool.
Normal.
Except not normal at all.
Because of everything.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
only if u pick me up :)
Dani grabbed her arm. “WHO IS IT.”
“No one,” Lara said, panicking.
Manon snatched the phone.
“HEY—”
Too late.
Manon read the message.
Paused.
Then slowly looked up.
“Oh,” she said again.
Dani grabbed the phone next.
“Give it back—”
Also too late.
Dani read it.
Then looked at Lara like she had just discovered a secret.
“Lara,” she said slowly.
“Yeah?”
“Who is texting you like that.”
Lara froze.
Because there was no way out now.
Absolutely none.
She could lie.
But they would know.
They always knew.
Manon leaned forward.
“Spill.”
Dani nodded.
“Immediately.”
Lara looked between them.
Then at her phone.
Then back at them.
And then—
“Okay but you can’t freak out,” she said.
Dani laughed. “That means we’re definitely going to freak out.”
“Just—please,” Lara said. “Be normal.”
Manon smiled. “We will not be normal.”
Lara took a deep breath.
And then—
“It’s Sophia.”
Silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three—
“WHAT.”
“I KNEW IT,” Manon yelled at the same time.
Lara covered her face.
“I hate you both.”
Dani was already leaning across the table. “No. No, no, no. You don’t just drop that and move on. What do you mean Sophia.”
“I mean Sophia,” Lara said weakly.
Manon grabbed her arm. “Explain. Everything. Right now.”
And so—
She did.
The rehearsal.
The massage.
The dinner.
The moment.
The kiss.
Everything.
By the end of it—
Dani was staring at her like she had just watched a movie.
Manon looked like she was about to scream.
“YOU KISSED HER,” Dani said.
“YES,” Lara said. “I GOT THAT PART.”
“And you didn’t tell us???” Manon added.
“It literally just happened,” Lara defended. “I was processing.”
“Processing???” Dani repeated. “You processed alone???”
“I didn’t know what it meant!”
Manon leaned back dramatically.
“This is insane,” she said. “This is actually insane.”
Dani nodded. “This is top-tier drama. I love this for us.”
“For YOU???” Lara said. “This is my life.”
“And it’s entertaining,” Dani said.
Lara groaned.
“I came here for support.”
“You’re getting support,” Manon said. “Loud support.”
Her phone buzzed again.
All three of them froze.
Slowly—
Lara picked it up.
Sophia: babygirl i gotchu
Dani choked.
Manon slapped the table.
Lara?
Lara turned bright red.
Like actually glowing.
“Oh my god,” Dani whispered. “BABYGIRL???”
Manon grabbed Lara’s arm again. “OH IT’S SERIOUS serious.”
“I can’t do this,” Lara said, hiding her face.
“Yes you can,” Dani said immediately. “You absolutely can.”
Manon nodded. “You’re going to dinner.”
“I know.”
“And you’re going to tell us everything after.”
“I hate this.”
“You love this,” Dani corrected.
Lara peeked out from behind her hands.
And yeah.
Maybe she did.
Just a little.
---
And somewhere across the city—
Sophia was staring at her phone.
Smiling.
Because yeah.
She definitely had her covered.