Work Text:
rene: TSYMMMM
rene: i love you so much aaaaaa
rene: i love you as much as a gay girl could love another girl
rene: platonically ofc haha <3
Castorice stared down at her phone, wondering how she managed to fuck up getting with her crush THIS BADLY.
It all started three years ago, when she met Cyrene, the kindest, sweetest, prettiest, cutest, most talented girl she had ever seen.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit TOO far back.
It all started three months ago, when Castorice realized she might be gaining a tiny little crush on her closest friend ever. Cyrene, who she saw every single day and would spend hours upon hours talking to her. Cyrene, the first friend she ever had who was willing to indulge in all her weird interests and enjoy them together. Cyrene, a literal angel descended to planet Earth. Cyrene, the most perfect girl in the entire universe.
Surely this crush would pass soon, right?
“Hey, Cassie?” Cyrene leaned over her desk to whisper to Castorice, ignoring Professor Anaxa’s side-eye. “You’d say we’re super close friends, right?”
'Ohmygodshessoprettywhatdoisay'
“I mean, yeah, I guess so,” Castorice said, trying and failing to act nonchalant.
“You know, we’re basically dating!” Cyrene exclaimed. Castorice stared at her, trying to figure out an appropriate response other than screaming. “Platonically, of course,” Cyrene added on with a laugh. “We’re dating each other platonically.”
The proper reaction to such a statement would probably be to laugh it off and forget about it, but not for Castorice. No, she decided that she would have to keep up this joke as long as possible.
rene: i love you bro
cassie: am i just a bro to you :((
rene: NONONO
rene: ur my wife <3
rene: (platonic)
casie: awwww
cassie: i love you too my (platonic) wife
“Stelle, I swear to god if you tell a single person about this, I will-” Castorice glared at Stelle as she cut her off.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I won’t mention your crush to anyone,” Stelle promised. “So, can I know who they are?”
“No.”
“Do I know them?”
“...No.”
“It’s Cyrene, isn’t it?” Stelle deadpanned.
“Shut up,” Castorice muttered, fully aware how obvious her crush was. “Just give me advice on what to do about this mess.”
“Honestly, ever since you two started that whole platonic bit, I figured at least one of you liked the other,” Stelle said. “You probably have a pretty fair shot of getting with Cyrene. All you have to do is take things nice and slow.”
Castorice squinted at Stelle suspiciously. “Are you telling me to take it slow because you only like slow-burns?”
“Listen here buddy, if you want help getting a girlfriend, then you better give me a damn good slow-burn in return– Wait come back!” Stelle chased after Castorice as she walked away.
rene: just got you to 180 pulls
cassie: OH MY GOD
cassie: I LOVE YOU
rene: love you too honey <3
Castorice threw her phone onto her bed and squealed.
rene: (platonically)
rene: ofc ofc
This girl really was going to be the death of her…
“Well well, look at these two lovebirds!” Cipher said, as Castorice and Cyrene approached her while holding hands.
“Hey, it’s platonic lovebirds,” Castorice corrected.
“Yeah, it’s a very important distinction!” Cyrene added, giggling. Castorice couldn’t help but stare as she laughed. It was insane how pretty her laugh sounded.
“You two and your fancy words,” Cipher grumbled. “What does platonic even mean?”
“Well, it’s like-” Castorice cut herself off, unsure how to define the word itself. “Hold on, let me look it up.” She pulled out her phone. According to the first definition that popped up, platonic meant not sexual but potentially romantic.
“Wow, Google is pretty stupid, isn’t it?” Cyrene laughed as she peered over Castorice’s shoulder to read what her phone said. “It basically means it’s not romantic. Cassie and I aren’t romantically together!”
“Uh huh…” Cipher nodded doubtfully. “Yeah, you two are just friends, and I’m definitely not going to see you two making out behind the bleachers next week.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Castorice could see Stelle eavesdropping and trying not to laugh at Cipher’s words. Castorice glared at her, signalling her to not give any obvious reaction. Cyrene looked back and forth at the two of them, obviously confused by their silent attempts at communicating with each other. “Um, what are you two-”
“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Castorice quickly said. Cipher opened her mouth, probably to make a comment about the pet name, but Castorice spoke before she could say anything. “C’mon, we have a class to get to. Let’s go!”
cassie: well that reminds me
cassie: actually nvm
rene: waitt no keep going
cassie: nopee
cassie: spoilers ^_^
rene: i hate you.
cassie: you love me
rene: and you love edging me
cassie: ofc
cassie: always have always will <3
rene: …
rene: cant get mad at that
Castorice hugged her phone as she curled up in her bed, smiling to herself as she scrolled through all her messages with Cyrene. It was kind of pathetic, honestly, but it was the closest she would ever get to being with the real thing. She was starting to get used to pretending what she had was real. It didn’t matter if they were just platonically dating as a joke, or if Cyrene could only love her as a best friend. It was selfish of Castorice to ask for anything more from the girl who had done nothing but give to her. Gave her a listening ear, gave her a helping hand, gave her a safe space, gave her happiness, gave her peace, gave her light. It was pure greed for someone like Castorice to expect Cyrene to give her love as well. It was kind of Cyrene to give her the chance to pretend what they had was something more. Castorice would ask nothing more from Cyrene, she had plenty enough to satisfy the hole in her heart that grew when the two were near each other.
rene: i just read the note you wrote for me
rene: oh my god
rene: genuinely
rene: all jokes aside
rene: i love you
rene: ur my best friend
cassie: I love you too.
Castorice couldn’t take it anymore. She needed more.
That morning, when she walked into the first class of the day she shared with Cyrene, she decided to surprise her friend with a small hug. “Good morning, honey!”
Cyrene turned around excitedly with a giant grin on her face. “Hi, honey!” The two of them quickly descended into chatter about their mornings and their plans for the rest of the day, slipping in joking flirts throughout the conversation
That was when March, who had been talking to Cyrene before Castorice’s arrival, decided to speak up. “Wait, are you two dating?” The two girls went silent for a moment, then immediately stuttered out their corrections.
“No, no, we’re not actually dating!” Cyrene laughed out nervously.
“It’s just a joke we have that we’re ‘platonically’ dating,” Castorice added, trying to keep her voice steady. “There’s absolutely nothing between us!”
“Uh-huh…” March glanced suspiciously between them before shrugging. “Sure. I believe that.” The bell then rang, preventing the conversation from going on any farther. Cyrene seemed to forget the interaction, quickly going back to whispering jokes to Castorice as their teacher spoke, but Castorice couldn’t stop thinking about March’s words.
‘She really thought that we were dating, didn’t she…’ Castorice thought to herself. Thinking back on it, Cipher also thought their relationship wasn’t platonic at all. And Stelle said that Cyrene probably returned her feelings. Castorice couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened since Cyrene had started the platonic bit, and how much she loved the girl. Feeling a sudden burst of confidence, she turned towards Cyrene.
“Hey Cyrene, remember that one definition we saw of the word ‘platonic’ that said it could mean romantic? Well, what if… um… instead of platonically dating, what if we were romantically dating?” Castorice rushed out, not thinking twice about her sudden words.
“Oh, sure!” Cyrene agreed instantly, clearly not thinking about her words either. The two stupid stupid lesbians stared at each other in silence, both trying to figure out what just happened. “Wait, did you just ask me out?!”
Castorice stared at a shocked Cyrene with an equal amount of shock on her own face. “Did you just agree?!”
“Um, yeah, I guess I did. Do you… do you want to be girlfriends?” Cyrene asked, trying to hold back her excitement.
“YES! I mean, yes!” Castorice answered, failing to hold back her excitement with Cyrene.
“I love you!” Cyrene blurted out. “Not platonically, not as my best friend, but romantically, as my girlfriend! I love you!” Castorice couldn’t help but sit in shock for a few moments at the words she just heard. Cyrene, her closest friend of three years, who knew everything about her, who would spend hours upon hours everyday talking to Castorice, loved her. It was everything Castorice could have ever dreamed of.
“I love you too.”
“You know, our six month anniversary is coming up soon, right? Got any surprises planned for me?” Cyrene asked, leaning over Castorice’s shoulder to see what she was so furiously typing onto her computer.
“Hey! No looking!” Castorice scolded as she shut her computer screen down before Cyrene could look at what she was writing.
“Aww, come on! Just a peek, please!” Cyrene begged, drawing out the last word.
“Nope, you have to wait until I decide it’s time for you to read it. No spoilers!” Castorice giggled at Cyrene.
“I hate you,” Cyrene pouted at Castorice, making an adorable face as she did so.
“You love me,” Castorice fired back, smiling at her girlfriend.
“And you love edging me.” Castorice laughed at the still pouting Cyrene and stood up to give her a small peck on the lips.
“Always have, always will.”