I loved this relationship in last week's episode. There was something very pure and beautiful about the connection between them, and I can't believe more people haven't already jumped on fic for these two, so here's me throwing my hat into that ring, hoping to inspire more.
It wasn't long before Estrella saw Cassandra Cillian again.
Late one afternoon, as the Charleston evening was turning into night, she was tending to some plants near the lake, just off from the place she'd last seen the Librarian. Sensing a presence in the location where there'd been not another soul for at least an hour, she turned. Cassandra stood on the rocks, a few up from the level ground, in a flirty dress that brushed the tops of her knees. Her lips curved into a small grin as Estrella's eyes found her, and she lightly shrugged as that grin broke into a full-blown smile.
Estrella grinned back at her and made her way over to the bottom of the rock steps. "You're back," she said.
"Yeah, well, when I first saw this place, I said if I came here, I'd never leave, so I was just thinking that I bet the sunset is really beautiful over that lake," Cassandra said.
"Oh," Estrella replied, playing along. "So that's why you've come?"
"Yes," Cassandra replied. She pulled her lips into a bit of a teasing pout and added, "But no."
Estrella smiled and nearly jogged up the rocky steps, closing the distance between them, and pulled Cassandra into a hug. "I'm so glad to see you again," she said.
Cassandra smiled into the other woman's hair and said, "Likewise."
Estrella took her hand and lead her a few steps away from the main walkway down to the lake. "Come on," she said. "This is actually the perfect place on the compound to watch the sunset."
She dropped Cassandra's hand and sat down on one of the rocky ledges, facing the lake, and Cassandra sat down close next to her. Cassandra sighed when she finally got a chance to look at the sunset across the water. Shades covering the entire spectrum colored the sky, like a picture perfect postcard come to life. Peace washed over her face as Cassandra watched the sunset, and Estrella watched her.
"You don't do this much, do you?" Estrella asked.
"Do what?" Cassandra asked, glancing over at her.
"Slow down," she said. "Take an hour to watch something like this."
Cassandra shook her head. "No, not really," she admitted.
"But now?" Estrella asked.
"Everything's more beautiful lately," Cassandra said, looking back towards the sunset in front of her. "I…I know that's kind of backwards, that something like that's supposed to happen when you're dying, but…"
"It makes sense," Estrella said. "It's the same desperate appreciation of life. It'll fade again."
Cassandra shook her head and said, "I don't ever want it to."
Without thinking, Cassandra let her head fall onto Estrella's shoulder. Estrella glanced down with a smile before curling her arm around Cassandra's back. Their eyes remained steady on the horizon, watching as the magnificent colors danced across the sky, painting their faces in a warm pink glow.
"You take the time?" Cassandra asked. "Even though you've seen a sunset thousands of times before?"
"The sunset's always beautiful," Estrella replied. "And I try to make time for the beautiful things in life, even if they seem mundane. Being surrounded by people who are not well can bring appreciation for life, too, even if I have a lot of it left to live."
"So it might not fade," Cassandra said, hopeful.
"Perhaps not," Estrella replied.
Cassandra nodded against her shoulder, and Estrella remained quiet, letting Cassandra stay lost in the moment, overcome with a shared appreciation that the girl in her arms was no longer one of those people who were not well, that she was still alive to see this. Eventually, Cassandra's arm crossed her own body, her fingers tangling with Estrella's against her side. The women stayed like that for a few moments, breathing together, bathed in the increasing glow of the setting sun, until Estrella finally broke their comfortable silence.
"How are you?" Estrella finally asked, softly, her thumb stroking against Cassandra's side.
"Good," Cassandra said with a nod. She laughed a little and changed her answer to, "Weird."
"You feel alright?" Estrella asked with concern.
"Yeah, it's nothing like that," Cassandra said. She picked her head up to look at her companion, though their fingers remained linked in a loose embrace. "I mean, some of these post-op meds are kind of a nightmare, and I can't wait to be off of them, but it's nothing to be worried about."
"Then what's weird?"
"Life, Estrella," Cassandra sighed. "I never let myself think beyond the next neurology appointment because I didn't know what Dr. Nassir was going to tell me. I don't really know what to do with the idea of a whole future."
"That's wonderful, though."
"Incredibly," Cassandra replied.
"It's a good problem to have," Estrella said, almost wistfully.
Cassandra's face sobered as she asked, "How are you doing?"
"It's strange here without my mother…my brother," Estrella admitted. "But I'm surviving."
"Estrella, I'm so sorry…" Cassandra started.
"It wasn't your fault, Cassandra," she said. "My brother…he made his choices. I still can't believe he was doing those things. That is not who we are."
"So…so is this place yours now?" Cassandra asked.
"Essentially," Estrella smiled. "I just hope I can run it in a way that would make my mother proud."
"Well, I have complete faith in you," Cassandra offered.
"Thank you," Estrella said.
Cassandra let her head fall back onto Estrella's shoulder, and silence fell over them again until the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon. As darkness fell, Cassandra picked her head back up and let her fingers slip from Estrella's. She looked a little apprehensive, and Estrella watched her for a moment before saying, "Why don't you just ask whatever it is you want to ask me?"
Cassandra looked down almost bashfully, just for a moment, and said, "The offer of immortality…to turn me and have me stay here with you for all eternity..."
"Have you changed your mind?"
"No, no…maybe next time I'm dying," Cassandra said with a nervous laugh. "I was just wondering if that offer was about me, or was that just because I wasn't going to live to see the next week, and you sensed that or something?"
"I knew," Estrella said. "By the look in your eyes, I knew, but that offer was about you. Why would you think it wasn't?"
"Eternity's a long time to spend with someone you just met," Cassandra pointed out.
"True," Estrella conceded. "But I wouldn't offer it to just anyone, Cassandra. Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah," Cassandra nodded, looking away with a small smile.
"Why do you ask?" Estrella replied.
"I just…wanted to know before I…" Cassandra said softly.
She cupped her palm around Estrella's face and leaned in until their lips met in a soft, tender kiss, much like their first. The arm around Cassandra's back tightened, and when they finally began to pull away from one another, Cassandra leaned back in, placing another gentle kiss on Estrella's mouth. She let her hand slide from Estrella's face slowly down her arm, and Estrella, with a delicate caress, brushed some of Cassandra's hair away from her face again.
"Thank you for tonight," Cassandra whispered.
"Thank you for coming back to see me," Estrella replied, mimicking Cassandra's tone.
The women shared a smile for a few moments before Cassandra stood, brushing off the back of her dress with her hands.
"I should go," Cassandra said.
"You could stay, you know," Estrella said, standing, too. With a little gleam in her eyes, she added, "We have the room."
Cassandra laughed softly. "Maybe next time," she promised.
"Next time?" Estrella asked. "So I'm going to see you again?"
Cassandra shrugged one more time and said, "The sunset's always beautiful here, right?"
Cassandra started heading away, back towards the magic door that would lead her home, and just as before, her arm stretched out behind her, Estrella's in front of her, until their fingers slipped from each other's grasp. Cassandra looked back and gave Estrella a little wave. Estrella returned the gesture, then turned back towards the darkened sky.
She'd be seeing her again soon.
Thanks for reading! Reviews make my day :)