CHAPTER TITLE: One-"La Fée Émeraude"

PAIRING: Nina/OFC

CHARACTERS: Nina Sharp

GENRE: Romance

RATING: M

SUMMARY: A young Nina Sharp finds love and loss.

WORD COUNT: 1552

WARNINGS: femslash?

SPOILERS: None

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just felt inspired to write some girl-on-girl ;)

DISCLAIMER: Obvious this isn't mine.

Carlotta Greenaway, simply put, was just a bored, rich girl who liked both science and redheads, which meant at 20 years old, Nina Sharp fit the bill.

It was 1962 and late May, Nina's last year traveling across Europe before she headed off to university. Her mind had been opened to many new ideas, many brilliant ideas inspired by the old architecture, cheap hash, and overcrowded hostels with leaky roofs.

Her mother believed that her dreams of becoming an architect of anything was simply ridiculous and why couldn't she marry that nice boy on Walnut street? Of course Mother wanted her to settle down and have a handful of children and a house with a white picket fence but Nina thought she ought to be more than a housewife. That and she really wasn't interested in…

Well, she was a nice girl regardless. It didn't matter if she was a 'variant' or 'invert', but that she was smart, well read, and could complete every domestic skill required to be a modern woman. It was simply that she liked something that she wasn't supposed to. And now here she was in Paris to attend a lecture regarding the advancement of technology.

It was during a talk by an American engineer that she noticed the lovely blonde sitting all the way across the hall. Nina hadn't really expected many women to be here—in fact, for a while she thought she might be the only woman there. But she kept feeling eyes on her and finally she located whom it was staring at her. The blonde had her hair pinned up and was wearing a very chic jade-coloured suit, making Nina suddenly feel very conscious of the worn and tired clothes she was in. Heck, they were the same ones she'd had since her sophomore year in high school.

Nina pretended she wasn't looking at her but it soon became obvious the blonde was in fact staring, so shyly she made eye contact. Their eyes locked on one another and Nina suddenly found herself in a staring competition, the world around her dissolving away as the beautiful woman finally gave her a delicate smile. Nina felt her cheeks flush and after giving an acknowledging nod, she turned her attention back to the speaker.

Talk of what technology had to offer the military and medicine quickly made her forget about the blonde altogether.

Admittedly interested in absinthe because it was both illegal and the drink of choice for so many troubled and creative souls, Nina had finally found an underground bar through a few of the fellow hostel residents. It was evening after she'd enjoyed a dinner at a nearby café and she was now standing in a smoky room with hazy lights. She felt like she was in one of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's 'Moulin Rouge' paintings, though it was considerably less crowded and everyone was wearing clothes suited for the modern era.

Her French was fluent and she managed to order herself the forbidden drink and sat at the bar counter while she waited to be served. She wondered if many woman came here alone, but then remembered she was American so perhaps this wasn't so strange to the man behind the bar in the first place.

The man set the bulb'd cup in front of her, a slotted spoon with a balanced sugar cube on top, as well as a carafe of ice water.

"Merci," she murmured as she studied the drink, realising she actually had no idea how to prepare the concoction.

Someone sat down at the counter next to her and Nina felt her eyes widen slightly as she realised who it was.

"Hello," Nina greeted almost nervously.

The beautiful blonde girl from the lecture smiled at her and offered out a hand.

"I'm Carlotta," the woman said with an aristocratic English accent that Nina had only ever heard in the movies.

"Nina," she greeted, giving a dainty handshake.

"Charmed," Carlotta said and glanced down at the untouched drink. "It's your first time here, isn't it?"

"Yes. I try not to make a habit of this type of thing," she said nervously.

The blonde dutifully began to pour the icy-cold water over the sugar cube, slowly so that the melting sucrè dripped heavy clouded drops into the emerald green. "You know, it was never banned in Britain."

Nina watched the sugar completely dissolve into her absinthe. "I had no idea. Part of the allure was—"

"—because it was forbidden," Carlotta finished.

"Yes." Nina felt a blush spread across her cheeks and she lowered her eyes to study the marred surface of the bar counter. "You were at the lecture."

"I followed you."

Nina looked up, shocked. "You did?"

"I was curious about another woman who shared my interests in engineering and technology." Carlotta cocked her head slightly as she looked over Nina, an amused glimmer in her eye. "I wasn't expecting an American, though. I thought I might have caught myself a Frog."

The phrasing struck Nina as odd. "Caught?"

The blonde's eyes left hers for a moment. "Let's move to a booth."

"All right," she said breathlessly.

Drink in hand, she allowed herself to be led behind one of the green velvet curtains where two small settees facing one another over a low to the ground coffee table. Nina took the one to the left and Carlotta took the one to the right. Both young women smoothed out their skirts, Carlotta's absinthe green silk a-line and Nina's steel blue full skirt, a cheap cotton blend she'd made a few years back. Her absinthe now an evenly opulent colour; she looked at it nervously, wondering why'd she'd even come here in the first place.

Carlotta took the crystal glass and took a small sip then passed it to Nina. "Now drink."

Nina accepted the chilled crystal and closed her eyes as she took her first mouthful. The bitterness she'd expected was slight, the strong floral and herbal flavour overwhelming anything unpleasant. While she'd never cared for anise or black licorice, everything about the flavours and scent complemented one another.

She opened her eyes to see Carlotta openly grinning. "Do you like it?"

"It very cool and refreshing…I didn't expect that," Nina admitted.

"It won't cause hallucinations, you know," the blonde said, letting her pumps fall to the floor and tucked her feet up under her skirt.

"Oh." Nina couldn't help but stare at the bare knees and calves across from her.

Carlotta lounged against the armrest, one of her hands elegantly moving in time to her words. "I was disappointed, too, my first time. But it's a lovely drink…have you ever had anything this strong before?"

The strength of the alcohol was finally catching up to her. "No…no…"

"You'll probably feel it in the morning then," the other woman chuckled.

"They said you could see the stars," Nina said dumbly, leaning back into settee as the small booth exploded in white sparkles.

"Let me see them with you," Carlotta mumbled as she leaned in.

Nina knew it was a kiss instantly and her mouth parted slightly as soft lips pressed against hers. The blonde tasted of sugar and Nina closed her eyes, letting her arms find their way around the other woman. Carlotta climbed across the low table until she was straddled across Nina's lap, their mouths never once parting. The other woman began to gently suck on her tongue and Nina couldn't help but whimper. Her eyes opened once more as she felt herself being lain down on the couch cushion and when she tried to push the other woman off her, she realised she was caressing a pair of breasts.

She gasped for air as her eyes shot wide open, wondering if she was imagining what was happening but as she looked down, she saw indeed she was massaging the firm mounds through the cloth. Her whole body suddenly felt very hot as she became aware of Carlotta's erect nipples pressing into the palms of her hands.

The blonde lifted her head up, breaking their kiss. Nina found herself breathless and still stunned. Carlotta's fingers traced her face before resting on her lips.

"Suck on it," the blonde commanded, leaving Nina no choice but to do as she was told.

Accepting the index finger into her mouth, Nina discovered that at some point the blonde had dipped her fingers into the absinthe, making her skin sugary sweet. Carlotta groaned and closed her eyes as Nina licked at the second finger, feeling very adventurous quite suddenly. On the other's woman's middle finger was a large emerald ring and Nina wondered where who exactly this Carlotta was. Finally the blonde pulled her hand away and began to unbutton the front of Nina's blouse, only the first three buttons. To her surprise, Carlotta dipped her head down and began to suck along the soft skin that joined her shoulder to her neck.

Almost as if she were afraid she'd fall, abandoned her hold on the other woman's breasts and gripped her hands tightly onto the other woman's thighs. Carlotta responded by spreading her legs a little wider and increasing the pressure onto Nina's neck. Nina gave a weak cry as she arched up towards Carlotta, her head tossing back.