BIRD

"Have I ever told you I really like it when you call me Tori?" Victoria was lying face down on Max's bed, tapping away at her smartphone, calves swinging back and forth like some stereotypical teenaged girl.

Max looked up from the book she was reading while lounging on the couch across from the bed and stared at Victoria for a second with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

As if knowing there was an unspoken question hanging in the air, but still not looking up from her phone's screen, Victoria added, "Really? You can't even imagine why, like, at all?"

"Uh," Max said eloquently.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Victoria slammed the phone on the mattress and dropped her face into the covers with a groan.

Worry crossed Max's expression, but before she could say anything, Victoria turned around and stared at her like a falcon ready to lunge down on prey. It clearly was a challenge for Max to say something dumb, and then all hell would break loose.

Unable to withstand Victoria's gaze, Max lifted the book to her face and hid behind it to carefully consider her next words.

"It's a short form of your name. It's a pet name only I use so it speaks about our intimacy?"

"Wrong," Victoria replied drily. She sighed and turned around to lie on her back, arms open at her sides like a cross. "Is that the best you can come up with? I guess I overestimated you. You don't know me at all."

Max looked hurt. "That's not fair."

She made to stand up but Victoria stayed her with a gesture of one hand.

"I know, but that's what young love is all about. Unfair expectations."

A pout appeared on Max's face and she grumbled something unintelligible, dropping her book beside her and crossing her arms. After a second, she sank further into the couch, looking very much like an angry child.

"But," Victoria said after a beat, "since I'm a nice person, I'm going to tell you why."

She was looking up at the ceiling, phone forgotten above her head and eyes unfocused. A classic example of the thousand-yard stare.

"You do know I like anime, right?"

Max rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Yes, Victoria, I do."

Completely ignoring Max's tone, Victoria carried on with her explanation.

"Well, tori, in Japanese, means bird." She raised one arm and outstretched it before her face, holding her open hand palm out, as if reaching for something only she could see. "Can you imagine that? The freedom?"

A look of recognition crossed Max's face. Her eyes widened a fraction and her lips tightened. Not a second later, she suddenly pounced on Victoria.

"Oh my god! You're so cute!"

After recovering from the surprise, Victoria's features settled on smug confidence. Basically, her face went back to normal after going all philosophical just moments before.

"Oh, I know."

Max propped herself on her elbows and looked down, frowning.

"What?" She squished her eyes and shook her head before continuing. "I imagined you'd find pride in looking sensual, or, hell, even badass, but cute?"

Both of Victoria's hands found Max's waist and squeezed lightly.

"Dear, you forget, I am whatever I put my mind into. If I want to be cute, not even Kate's bunny can measure."

Mock indignation appeared on Max's face. "Hey! You take that back right now. Alice has you beat hands down in the cuteness department."

Victoria arched an eyebrow at that.

Max stared right back at Victoria with a blank expression on her face, but it did not take long for the cracks to begin showing on her defiant veneer. She completely lost it once deft fingers began poking her ribs.

"Okay, okay; uncle, uncle!" Max shouted after a moment.

They both fell silent after that. Almost a minute went by without either saying anything, but Victoria was grinning triumphantly and Max was looking at anything except the girl beneath her, so, there obviously was something unresolved between them.

"Well?" Victoria was the one to finally break the pregnant pause.

"Ugh." Max rolled her eyes. "Yes, Victoria, you can be cuter than Alice when you want to."

"Of course I can." Victoria craned her neck and pecked Max on the cheek. "But, right now, I feel like being the girl that makes it so you walk funny until tomorrow morning."

Max's eyes widened comically.

"Uh oh."

Victoria grabbed Max by the shoulders and shifted their positions on the bed with a single, swift movement.

"Uh oh indeed, little doe."

FIN