Title: Meeting the Girls
Summary: Of course they had to gossip a bit. It's just one of those things.
Rating: K+, methinks.
Pairings: ... several. I counted 25; some were merely suggested and not actually happening, some onesided, some that used to exist, some that actually exist... I'm telling you, it's more fun if you don't know them in advance. BUT. If you insist on knowing the pairings, I shall put them to the end of the fic.
Warning: boy/girl-relationships, boy/boy-relationships, girl/girl-relationships... You have been warned.
Disclaimer: Beyblade and it's characters ... heck. If I owned Beyblade, it would be a yaoi anime. So no, I don't own Beyblade.
A/N: The idea for this story originally somewhat came from Shin Rigel's story "Girl talk and gay guys". Kudos to her.
I think that Beyblade girls don't get enough attention. As opposed to some fans, I happen to like them as characters. ... if they aren't paired with the wrong people, that is. Ahem. -cough-
Moooving along!
Apparently all the girls have befriended each others before this fic takes place, otherwise it makes very little sense.
To the story, now.
It had been a while since all the girls had last gathered and shared some time together, most of them had busy schedules nowadays. Mariam wasn't particularly ashamed to admit that she had somewhat missed all those eight lovely ladies, even if she didn't even know some of them that well. They had all agreed to spend the weekend together, just a couple of days before Granger's big Halloween-party were supposed to take place. Mariam had invited everyone to her homely, rather large apartment she had inherited from her grandparents. It was time for what guys so elaborately called "girls' stuff".
Hilary had been the first one to arrive, all jittery about meeting everyone again. She had decided she needed to show up two hours early, just in case Mariam needed help with something. In the end, she didn't seem to mind Mariam prancing around in underwear, muttering about people having no decency to let others sleep. Hilary even told her that the black top was a much better choice than the pale pink one. Mariam didn't agree to admit that she had needed help with deciding that. Instead, she gave Hilary the task of peeling potatoes. The girl didn't seem too overjoyed about it, but Mariam decided that it wasn't her fault. She hadn't expected anyone come knocking on her door at 7 am on her day off.
Mariah and Salima knew Mariam and her sleeping habits well enough to not arrive until at the planned time, 9 o'clock sharp. The two of them, as well as Hilary, all lived relatively close to the blue-haired girl, so it had been agreed earlier that they would first meet at Mariam's house and then drive to the airport to wait for the others.
Queen and Julia's airplane had landed on time, 9:35. Fierce hugs and compliments had been changed when the girls had found their way to their friends. They had all went for a cup of coffee before Mathilda had phoned and told that she had just walked through the customs, about half an hour earlier than expected. She had joined them, and they had continued sitting in the little café, knowing it wouldn't take long for the last member of their little group to show up. Queen had been nagging about the disadvantages of low-cost carriers when Mathilda heard an announcement which told that the plane from New York had just arrived to the airport. They left their empty cups on the table and went to welcome the group's intellectual.
"Ming-Ming not here yet?" Emily asked with a yawn after the initial welcoming hugs and slaps. Mariam, feeling somewhat like the hostess of this little meeting of theirs, had been the first to explain:
"She couldn't make it, I called her yesterday and she said that she had an important gig today and later in the evening she needed to go shopping with Monica."
This didn't seem to please everyone. Julia was first to say something out loud.
"Shopping? Shopping? Oh come on, she sees us, what, couple of times a year and she thinks shopping is more important than –"
"Hey, let's calm down, okay? Ming-Ming called me today. She said that Monica's been a bit down lately, so Crusher asked Ming to cheer up her little sister, you all know how much he loves his siblings. She felt really bad about not being able to see us today, but she'll join in first thing tomorrow morning", Salima cut in. Her soothing voice settled the situation, and the girls decided to head back to Mariam's house.
Back at the apartment, none of them really felt like unpacking their suitcases or dragging mattresses around. It was a joint decision to first sit down for a while and indulge in idle chit-chat. At some point, as Mariam seemed to recall it always did, the subject turned into their love lives.
"As it seems so obvious that everyone wants to know about these things... Is there anything anyone would like to share with the rest of us?" Mariam asked with a sly grin.
Everyone seemed interested enough, but nevertheless just changed looks with one another, possibly waiting for someone to go first.
"Well, I've got nothing new to tell. I think I already e-mailed each and every one of you last week and told what had happened", Julia bravely started.
"Hey, yeah. You and King. A truly royal couple", Mariah snickered. Julia just smirked peacefully, Queen rolled her eyes as if she had heard way too many jokes with regal themes.
"But you do need a guy with a strong will to keep you tamed", Salima said, giggling slightly. Julia flashed a toothy grin.
"Who said anything about me getting tamed, sister?"
"Queen, how about you? Are you dating someone?" Mathilda asked with a polite smile. Everyone seemed to guess the answer, but it still had to be asked. Queen's usual cocky smile was replaced by a more sheepish one.
"I've had a couple of dates with Raul."
"Okay, here's a question for both of you two. How did this happen? You four have been almost separable for the last six months and now, suddenly, kaboom, you decide to start dating?" Emily asked, visibly curious.
"Mmm, I know... It's a bit hard to explain so that it doesn't sound weird. Me and Julia somehow started talking about things one night, about our feelings, and then we talked to the boys and then something just happened. But hey, it's not like I'm complaining about it."
"Uh-huh. King is a nice challenge. Much more independent than most of the guys I've ever dated. I like that."
"Whereas Raul is a bit too sensitive for his own good and needs someone to coax him to be more defensive But really, he's such a sweetheart", Queen said and wrapped an arm around Julia's shoulders.
"And it's nice to have a lover who understands the twin bond. Some of my previous boyfriends have actually been jealous to my brother", Julia said and rolled her eyes.
"It's also nice to actually stand the girl your brother is dating", Queen added.
"But have no mistake, we only barely endure each other", Julia said and wrapped her arm around Queen's shoulders similarly as other one had done to her just while ago.
"Well, it's not exactly like you make it an easy task..."
Julia poked Queen on the ribs and smiled innocently to the rest of the girls.
"Anyways, we're happily dating each other's twins, and we'll see where it goes. No need to wait for an invitation to a double-wedding anytime soon, though. Next one on the line, please?"
Silence, yet again. Mariam felt obligated to say something.
"Is Ming-Ming still having trouble deciding what to do?"
Most of the girls turned to look at Hilary, who merely shrugged.
"As far as I know, she decided to wait and see. Ming-Ming would have been okay with the idea of dating Daichi, but her Queen-form –"
Queen coughed. The girls snickered, indicating they had all heard that one before.
"... She wasn't quite as excited. I guess she revaluates the situation as she goes, but for now, she's single."
"Does Kenny still have a crush on her?" Emily asked semi-interestedly.
"He still listens to her CD's sometimes, but he's not as hopeless as he used to be", Hilary said with a yawn.
"Probably the best for them both. Who's next?"
As if it had been an order, everyone turned to look at a certain pink-haired girl who had wrapped her arms possessively around the waist of the redhead next to her.
"What? I guess it's kinda obvious that we are still together", Mariah said with a snicker. Salima kissed her on the cheek.
"You really do need to laugh at the irony of it all. In the beginning you were fighting over a guy, and now..." Queen said and raised her eyebrows – everyone got the point.
"Yeah, I guess it's rather funny when you really think about it... But Ray is happily together with Kai, and I'm perfectly satisfied with what I have right here", Mariah said with a smile and snuggled Salima. Other girls smiled softly, they were already used to seeing such acts of affection from their friends.
"Mar... I hate to bring this up, but... is your brother still mad at you?" Julia asked silently.
Mariah's eyes darkened.
"He hasn't spoken to me in six months, now."
"But he's your brother. I'm sure he'll come around and ask forgiveness eventually", Salima said determinedly, head resting against Mariah's head in a comforting manner. Mariah nodded, but couldn't fade all the melancholy out.
"Gary was immediately okay with it, as I suspected, he's easy-going enough to understand. Kevin always treated me like I was his sister, he stopped avoiding me after a few months. Most of the village was now accepted the fact that I will never get married with one of the men and have dozens of babies. The elders don't understand, but that was expected of them. Even my parents are slowly getting over it, they even called me last week to ask how I was doing. But I honestly didn't think that Lee, my own brother out of all the people, would hate me so much that he doesn't even..." Mariah said quietly, her sentence left unfinished. Salima hugged her, no one else was quite sure what to say or do.
"Sal, how about the people close to you, how did they react when they heard?" Mariam asked. Her main goal at the moment was to get Mariah's thoughts somewhere else.
"Well, my family was a bit shocked at first... but they adapted pretty fast and are happy for me. They like Mariah a lot. And Kane has been a really good friend, even if I first thought that he might have some problems with it. Goki and Jim haven't started acting differently around me after I told them, so I guess they don't mind. So I'm all good, really."
"Mariam, our love... You never told us how your friends reacted", Mariah suddenly spoke, sad look morphing into a impish smile. Everyone's eyes turned to the blue-haired girl, the first of them who had openly told everyone she preferred women over men.
"None of them seemed that surprised, really. Ozuma said 'good for you' a bit sarcastically, Dunga stared at me with this creepy smirk on his face and Joseph just shrugged it off. Apparently I seemed rather dyke-ish to them all along", Mariam said with a snort. Her comment raised a silent titter among the others.
"... ooor maybe it's because my brother caught me kissing a girl about a year before I actually told anyone I was queer."
"That might have something to do with it too, maybe. But you know, you coming out of the closet was rather refreshing. I was beginning to think that beyblade only connected gay guys. Now we know that it's a queer sport all the way", Hilary said with a shrewd smile. Mariam grimaced, but soon winked at the brown-haired girl sitting opposite to her.
"Seriously though. The sport is gay. Just think how many of the guys have actually hooked up", Julia said, Queen nodding beside her.
"For instance? Oliver has been openly gay for quite a long time, but wasn't it kind of a shock when Enrique started dating him?" the black-haired girl asked.
"Uh-huh. Kai and Ray are dating too, as we all know. Heck, they are pretty much an item", Mariah said with a small grin.
"Brooklyn and Mystel, whether they admit it or not, are rather obviously a pair. I saw them together some months ago. So that's three couples already", Mariam counted and looked at the others, as if she was asking for more names.
"Oh, I know! Bryan and Tala, right? They were a major head topic last year, weren't they? 'The cold-hearted Russians in love?' and so on", Hilary remembered.
"This could be just a rumour, but I've heard that Zeo – you remember him, don't you? The green-haired boy who plays the violin? – is going out with some lesser-known blader, who apparently used to work for Gideon. He has some weird animal-like name, Wolfie or Spidey or something. Could have been Weasel? Or maybe Foxy, or Hawk. I honestly can't remember", Salima said, seemingly a bit confused about the whole thing with the names.
"Really? Hadn't heard about that one before. Mattie, is Claude with someone right now? He was the one of the guys who tripped my gaydar the most", Emily said, turning attention to the slightly antsy-looking pink-haired girl.
"Uh, I do think he's with Garland. At least he talked about him in that manner."
"Huh. I was somewhat certain he had a crush on Miguel", Julia said. Mathilda shrugged.
"So did I, to be honest. Goes to show you never can tell."
"True. But with some, of course, you just can. I mean, some of the guys do are kinda obviously... well, gay. Some of them trip the gaydar really badly. Just like Oliver. He likes arts, unicorns and pretty things and, honestly, some of his postures are more girly than mine are", Julia half-muttered, making the others grin.
"Oh, some of Tala's famous postures are rather... feminine too. The 'hands-on-hips' puts some of the girls in awe, he just pulls it off so well", Hilary snickered. Mariah and Salima changed quick looks.
"This will probably sound really silly coming from us, but Ray is one of the obvious ones too. If you actually pay any attention to the real him, that is", Mariah said meekly.
"Hey, maybe that's why we liked him in the first place. Aren't homosexuals supposed to be women's dream men?" Salima asked, touch of irony in her voice.
"I wouldn't mind having a gay boyfriend", Mathilda said and smiled a bit. For reasons Mariam or no one else in the group could define, Hilary seemed slightly distant for a few seconds.
"Mmmh. Are there any other couples we haven't mentioned yet?" Mariam asked. All but one shook their heads; Emily was just staring strictly at the floor. Mariam figured it would be best not to say anything about it.
"People are so gay, gay, gay these days. So, to stop thinking that being a straight person is a freaky accident of nature, let's turn to our hetero-pair number one! Hilary, how's your and Tyson's thing going? Have you two got together already?" Julia asked with a smirk.
Hilary's smile faded a bit.
"Things are... pretty weird right now. Have been for some while. I'd appreciate if I wouldn't have to talk about it, if you don't mind."
The girls shared a puzzled look.
"Hilary, are you sure? You know you can tell us anything in the world", Mariah said, genuinely worried. Hilary smiled.
"I know, and I love you all for that. But now that we are here together, I'd rather forget the whole thing and just have fun. I'll tell you some other time. Em, how's your love life? Still thinking about Michael?"
"Michael had other plans", Emily answered coldly. "So no, I got over him."
"I think that Kenny might have a crush on you", Hilary stated. This made the rest of the girls smile, and Emily look a bit awkward.
"Kenny... He's a nice guy, but not really my type."
"Well, do you have someone else on your mind?" Julia enquired.
"As a matter of fact, yes, I do. I even have a date with him today."
This caused everyone to wimple with curiosity.
"Who?"
"Tell us! Details!"
"Do we know him?"
"Is he hot?"
"You do know him", Emily said peacefully, ignoring the other questions.
"You are meeting him here, so he must be living somewhere relatively close by", Mariam guessed.
"Unless he has arrived for Tyson's party a bit early."
"Oww, Em, don't be like that, tell us! Is it Hiro? Both of you got the smarts", Hilary said, voice filled with curiosity. Emily rolled her eyes.
"As if. Next one on the line, please."
"Crusher? I think he's single and his sister is really cute", Julia suggested. Queen's impish smile suggested that her friend might not have been quite that serious with her ideas. Emily, on the other hand, gave it some thought.
"I think he would be a bit too emotional for my kind of girl. I don't think we'd match. Anyone else wish to take a poor yet interesting guess?"
"How about Kane? I think you once said he was rather cute", Mariah recalled.
"He is. That doesn't mean I'd go out with him."
A small laughter caught everyone's attention. Salima was covering her mouth with her hand, giggling silently. Emily smiled at her.
"Funny coincidence, wouldn't you say? I heard that Jim has a date tonight, too", she said through the laughter.
"Jim? ... Emily, you are going out with Jim?" Queen asked with a grin.
"We met in an online chess-game, we started e-mailing, he found out I was coming here a few days before the party and he asked me out. And I said yes."
"Aawww!" they all shouted in choir. Emily blushed a bit.
"I can tell you more after the date. Mattie, it's your turn. How's your situation?"
Mathilda was seemingly nervous about the attention she now received.
"Oh, nothing to tell, I'm single and I have no boys on my mind right now", she said quickly, ready to move on. The other girls, however, felt like this was not enough.
"You are not still thinking about Johnny, are you?" Julia asked with a frown on her face.
"No, of course not. I just... don't find boys interesting right now", Mathilda said and smiled faintly.
Girls were silent for a while, then shrugged.
"If you say so", Salima said softly, smiling to the shy-looking girl.
"Yes, I do say so. Em, when's your date?" Mathilda asked, determined to change the subject. Emily glanced at the clock on the wall.
"In about half an hour, actually."
That caused quite a fuzz.
"Half an hour? You are supposed to get dressed, put on the make-up, do your hair and make it there in time in just half an hour?"
"Where are you meeting him?"
"Do you even know your way around the town?"
Emily was one of the two people who weren't stressing out. Mariam, who didn't think the situation needed all the drama, was the other one. They shared a meek grin.
"Ack!" Julia shouted. "Queen, we were supposed to meet Romero and go shopping!"
"Romero? Why is he – Ohh. Right. Don't tell me. He's here for Tyson's Halloween party", Mariah said with a sneer.
"Aren't they all? We agreed to meet him at the airport... in about 45 minutes, actually."
"Apparently I'm not the only one leaving to downtown, then. So let's see. Who of us are going somewhere now?" Emily asked.
When the discussion was over, it had been decided that since Queen, Julia and Emily all needed to go to the town centre but didn't really know their way around, Hilary would make sure that no one got lost. After that, she said, she could go home to check up on the guys. Mariah and Salima said they had some things in their own home that might be useful during the weekend, and that they could go shopping for groceries. Mariam promised to stay home, start making the beds and cooking something. Mathilda said that she would stay and help.
All of a sudden 6 out of 8 people had disappeared, with promises to return in a couple of hours. Mathilda sat on the couch, a bit dazzled about everyone's quick departure. Mariam just stood close to the window and felt slightly awkward.
It wasn't as if she didn't like the pink-haired girl, quite on the contrary, she just never seemed to find anything reasonable to say to her. And whenever she actually said something, it always sounded either incredibly stupid or just plain disturbing, which caused her to be extremely embarrassed later on.
"I guess it's just us now", Mathilda broke the silence, and smiled. Mariam was happy she didn't have to be the one to say that line, she would have decried herself of stating the obvious. When the other one said it, it didn't sound so bad.
"I guess."
Mathilda looked really sweet, sitting there with the loveliest smile on her lips, keeping her hands in her lap a bit shyly. Mariam really hoped she wouldn't end up having a crush on the girl, because that would make the situation even more awkward between them. Mathilda, though, seemed to be strangely unaware of the tension. Either that, or she was an unbelievably good actress.
"We should probably start doing something useful. Here, I'll show you where the mattresses are."
Once they finished the beds, they started preparing the food. Mariam peeled onions while Mathilda made dressing for the salad. They changed sentences now and then, nothing very serious or profound. Mariam was still able to sense that something bothered her companion.
"Everything okay, Mattie? You seem a bit distressed."
"Uh, no, I mean yes, everything's fine", Mathilda stammered, fumbling her necklace. Mariam decided to try and ease up the atmosphere.
"Pretty jewel. A gift, is it?"
"Aaron gave it to me on my birthday", came the answer.
"Is Aaron your boyfriend?"Mariam already knew the answer to that, but she figured it was important to keep the other girl talking and avoid uncomfortable silences.
"Aaron is just a good friend. Uh, Mariam…" Mathilda started a bit hesitantly. Mariam felt her mind sharpening up, realizing there would be a question next.
Oh please don't ask anything about my current relationships, I just managed to avoid the subject back there…
"Can I ask you a question?"
And there it came, as expected. Mariam tried to look calm. It was just going to be a question, for goodness' sake, no need to get this wound up. She just hoped the question wouldn't be 'are you trying to flirt with me?'
"You've openly admitted that you are… that you like girls. I thought I should ask this from you."
Mariam clenched the peeler. She didn't like the sound of this, not at all.
"I mean, I could have asked from Mariah or Salima, but it feels a bit awkward since they are dating and all…"
So maybe she had overreacted. Mariam felt her heartbeat returning into normal state. Maybe this wouldn't be anything bad after all.
"Oh? So ask then."
Mathilda looked at the floor and coughed.
"Is it somehow different to be with a girl than with a guy?"
Mariam gave this some thought and then shrugged.
"I don't think so. Usually you just date prettier people and, considering some the boys we know, even that is not really true."
Mathilda laughed a bit. She seemed visibly less nervous.
"But I guess it depends… What are looking for in a person you love? What do you require?" Mariam asked.
"I want that person to listen to me, understand me, be there for me when I need it and just generally love me as I am," the answer came surprisingly fast. Apparently Mathilda had spent a lot of time thinking about it.
Mariam smiled exultantly.
"See? None of those things really require a man."
Mathilda smiled. There was an unfamiliar twink in her eyes.
"I guess not. But I bet that the kissing, at least, is different."
Mariam grinned.
"Oh, certainly. It's much better. More soft, usually, but equally passionate. Women tend to have much lovelier lips to kiss. And a woman will caress you gently, just like you want to be touched, not like those men who just grope you and expect it to be a turn-on. It's like they say, really: only a woman can truly know what another woman wants."
Mariam didn't notice how Mathilda had on the sly moved closer to her until she stopped talking. The pink-haired girl's arm was now touching hers.
"Mari, I have to admit… You got me curious", she said, her smile unusually teasing.
Mariam replied with a wink.
"I bet I could make you even more curious."
When Mariah and Salima returned, they found out not only that the dinner wasn't served, but also that the food was actually only half-made. They sighed and started working on it. After all, they couldn't blame anyone else about it and made them do it, since Mathilda and Mariam seemed to have gone out for a walk.
The ending kinda sucks, I admit. Sorreeeh.
Thinking of it now, I'm not quite sure why I left Ming-Ming out of the story. o.o
Oh, and I found at least two points where knowing some of my other stories might come handy. I hope they don't confuse anyone, too much at least.
... and I am not suggesting that all girls gossip and act like the characters in my story. Just pointing this out.
-sigh- I was supposed to write two Halloween-related stories, about the "Tyson's Halloween-party" mentioned in the story, I'll finish them before Christmas, maybe.
But before I do... I love reviews. Just pointing this out as well.
Oh, and the pairings:
King/Julia, Raul/Queen, possible Daichi/Ming-Ming in the future, onesided (former?) Kenny/Ming-Ming, Mariah/Salima, former onesided Mariah/Ray & Salima/Ray, Kai/Ray, former Mariam/random women, Enrique/Oliver, Brooklyn/Mystel, Bryan/Tala, Zeo/someguywhosenameremindssomeanimalname, Garland/Claude, thought to exist but didn't Miguel/Claude, (troubled) Tyson/Hilary with a possible hinted twist, former onesided Emily/Michael, onesided possible Kenny/Emily, suggested but not actually happening Hiro/Emily, suggested but not actually happening Crusher/Emily, suggested but not actually happening Kane/Emily, actually happening Jim/Emily, former Johnny/Mathilda, suggested but not happening Aaron/Mathilda, Mariam/Mathilda. ... I think that's it.