To get the idea for this story I went on one of those random word generator sites. The word I received was coffee, but frankly I hate coffee so I decided to mix things up.
***Disclaimer, I own absolutely nothing to do with the Skulduggery Pleasant series other than a super cool screen saver as well as some books.
Sunday morning Tanith found herself standing in front of a small café in the heart of Dublin. The small building was nestled in a quiet alley between various bookstores and antique shops. The door chimed as she stepped inside. It had been a long week for her. A group of vampires made a reappearance by the cemetery, a necromancer was biting Valkyrie's head off so in turn she dealt with the aftermath, and then some sick man was caught driving around in an icecream truck to stop his zombie body from rotting, the twisted part was that he was actually selling ice cream to little kids. However the most recent event was the worst. Last night an adept with the power of narcolepsy tried to rob China's apartment. In his defence she supposed Narcolepsy had it's benefits, say if you were a spy or an assassin, but that wasn't something you could just run onto the field with, and China Sorrows? I mean really, you'd have to be an idiot to try and steal from her and assume you'd live to tell the tale. Luckily she was trying to find a book at the time or China would've skinned the man alive. Granted Ms. Sorrows wasn't too happy when Tanith interfered and handed him to the Sanctuary, but what else was new.
Actually scratch that. As of lately her and China seemed to be on friendlier terms, which Tanith wasn't complaining about. The older woman was flawless. She was the epitome of grace and beauty. Her raven hair cascading down her lean back, her perfect porcelain complexion, the ice blue eyes that seemed to pierce through your soul… These thoughts alone worried Tanith. For most people, these feelings were customary around China, however Tanith wasn't so lucky. She wasn't affected by glamors, never has been, never will be. This meant every thought she had about the raven haired adept was real. From the way her muscles twitched in anticipation before a fight, the way she'd bit her lip while immersed in a good book, how she cringed at the mention of cranberries (which was a surprisingly popular topic among the group), to the subtle smirk bordering a smile she had seemed to reserve for Tanith's eyes only.
That's what brought her to the shop, she needed some peace and quiet and time to think things through. Contrary to popular opinion, the blonde didn't run on rainbows and sarcasm. She functioned regularly on hot tea and clever comebacks. Glancing up at the chalkboard above the small man at the cashier, she made her choice.
"I'd like a Vancouver fog-"
"Make that two please, with two pieces of biscotti." The smooth voice cut into her mind life a knife. Tanith whirled around to see China Sorrows, smirking that same damned smirk at her. "Well? Be a dear and pay the nice man for our drinks." Tanith began to pull out some bills from her wallet as she struggled to find her voice. It wasn't until China placed one porcelain hand under her Tanith's chin did her senses reignite. The thin fingers pushed her jaw upwards, "Keep your mouth closed or you'll only catch flies."
Feeling the colour rise to her cheeks, Tanith muttered an apology before turning quickly and handing the bills to the man at the cash register. His eyes whoever were glued to China, however said woman was focused on the blonde. When the man made no move to take the money, a surge of emotion powered its way through Tanith. She snarled, clapping her hands in the man's face, "Oi! Keep your eyes to yourself you useless git!" The man's gaze snapped up to Tanith's hands, dangerously close to his Trachea, and ran towards the Barista station.
The emotions flooded Tanith's body as she scowled at the balding man, but a glass like hand was placed on her leather clad shoulder. "Let's find someplace to sit." China's voice once again snapped her out of her daze, with an eye roll she allowed the older woman to lead them to a quiet booth at the edge of the cafe. They sat on either side of the table, China shrugging off her red trench coat, "How are you?"
Tanith flinched, wondering what game China had in mind. "I'm well, yourself?"
"I'm alright."
There was a long pause between the two women, both looking anywhere except the other. Tanith hated it.
"So-"
"How-"
"Sorry, you first." Tanith grinned sheepishly as they made eye contact. Silently berating herself for interrupting the smaller woman
China let out a breathy laugh and Tanith nearly melted at the sound, "It's alright. I was just going to ask how are things between you and Ghastly?"
She felt her body tense at the mention of the tailor's name. Ghastly was an incredibly sweet man, but that was the problem, he was too pure at heart. Sure she wasn't half as bad as most adepts, but she would readily admit that she wasn't the most innocent being around. The added factor that all their friends were expecting them to get together did nothing to calm her mind. She was looking for somebody who could accept all her quirks, both pleasant and violent. She wasn't exactly a passive person, Tanith thrived off of adrenaline running through her veins. It wasn't fair to Ghastly and-
"Are you okay?" China placed a hand over Tanith's and gave it a squeeze.
Struggling to find the right words and cut of her insistent mental ramblings, Tanith pulled her hand away. "There's nothing between us."
China nodded. The silence resumed itself until the small man from behind the counter brought them their drinks. China uttered thanks while Tanith shot subconscious daggers at the man. Then the silence continued for a few moments. Tanith couldn't help but stare down at the paper cup of tea. She was well aware of China's gaze boring into her like lasers. No matter how much she wanted to return the gaze, the unspeakable tension between the two had her frozen in place.
It was China who broke, "I didn't thank you yet, did I?"
Looking up, the blonde tilted her head to the side "For what?"
"Stopping me the other night. You know I do regret it when I kill someone." China looked into Tanith's eyes, searching. "Contrary to the popular belief, I do have feelings."
Then it hit Tanith. The reason why China was here. The older woman's gaze wasn't searching, it was projecting, as if to prove that she still held emotions beneath her icy exterior. She was lonely, she needed somebody to bring her back. She lived off of thrill like Tanith. Which explained how alive she was during their banter, going against the bad guys, even working alongside the team. She needed a spark to reignite the ember that Tanith had rarely glimpsed. Once again, she was at a loss of works and silence over took them.
China let out a downcast sigh and began to get up. At that moment something snapped and Tanith decided she would never want to see this woman upset again.
"Don't leave!" Tanith found herself almost shouting as her hand shot up and gently grasped China's forearm. "I mean... um stay a little longer, please." The expression on China's face was by far the most breathtaking thing Tanith had ever seen. It was hope. Unfortunately it flickered out like a match in an instance, the icy mask settling back into its regular place. "Hey," Tanith, who's hand was still on China's arm, subconsciously ran her fingers along its length. "What happened?"
"I was just checking if our food was ready-"
"Lies." The blonde soon found her fingers intertwining with the brunette's, praying that she wouldn't pull away.
China however allowed her fingers to curl into Tanith's as she let out a sigh. "This isn't easy for me."
"I know."
Another long breath was spent, with China staring at their tangled hands in the middle of the table. "I'm trying you know. I really am. Growing up was never easy, in a family of pure magicians who had disillusioned ideas of false gods. I was never good enough, and I paid the price." A pained expression made its way onto China's face and Tanith gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It became easier to hide behind this façade, but it gets lonely. Everyone I meet, everything I touch is tainted by lust. I steal their senses. I seize their mind. I hate it." China shifted her gaze to meet Tanith's eyes, "There's been one person who wasn't affected, and I've been lucky enough for them to stand by my side for the past few years." At this point, China tried to convey her message through her features, she allowed them to lose control finally bend to her true feelings.
Tanith couldn't help but blink back surprise at the look China was giving her, pure adoration. Soon she found herself standing up out of the booth and yanking the older woman into a tight embrace. China for the most part sunk into the blonde's arms, burying her face her neck. Tanith weaved one hand through the brunette's hair, while the other wrapped around her body, cradling China in her arms. "I'm here."
China pulled Tanith's face to face her own. With shining eyes she smiled, "You always were." Slowly her face inched closer, until their eyes were closed and breathing became shallow.