author's note: This is what happens when I listen to the "Enchanted" soundtrack while chatting with my bestie. Fairytale lesbians occur. I'm not sorry. So yeah. This might become a mini-series? I don't know, just read the story, man! :P

Fun note: I think the best voice for Darling Charming would be Jenna Coleman. Now I'm really exceeding my expectations. XD

-xoxo-

Opposite Similarities

-xoxo-

It was a slow day in the Village of Bookend. While normally, it was bustling on the weekends, no one ever really bothered to come out on a Sunday afternoon. At the Tower Salon, not a single customer had showed up all day. Then again, it really didn't matter too much - the only worker there was far too occupied with herself. Poppy was messing around with various hair dyes and nail polishes, testing out different colors, and not even paying any attention to the fact the bell on the door ringing.

Poppy was applying a wicked black to her fingernails, when a loud ahem interrupted her. She spilled almost half of the bottle onto the desk, and looked over her shoulder, to see quite a familiar face standing there. She gave a hesitant smile, and waved awkwardly.

"O'Hair," Darling said. "Good to see you."

"Hey... Charming," Poppy replied. "You here for an appointment?" She was slightly perplexed - seeing how Darling had battled a troll just the other day, was she really walking into a salon?

"Just a simple touch up, if you don't mind," Darling requested. "Normally, you have a walk-ins welcome sign out, but I didn't see one today." She drummed her fingers against the tabletop, and thought for a moment. "If you're not open-?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, we totally are," she assured. "But it's dead today, y'know? You're the only one here."

Darling gave the famous sort of smile all Charmings were known for. "Well, would you care to help a fellow Princess in need?" she inquired.

Twirling the cap on the nail polish bottle, Poppy returned the grin. "Take a seat. I'll be with you in a minute," she said.

As she watched Darling walk over to the salon chairs, Poppy couldn't help but wonder. She had heard about the Charming's daughter once in a while: seeing how the family normally had sons, a Princess was an extremely rare fluke. Yet, no one knew her story. A few days ago, with the whole rescuing incident, Poppy could recall Darling mentioning something about being a rescuer, but to Poppy's knowledge, none of the stories involved girls being the hero...

...then again, Holly was the story expert. Poppy made a mental note to ask her sister about that later.

She grabbed a rag, and wiped the last remnants of nail polish and hair dye off of her hands, while making her way over to Darling.

"So, what do you need?" Poppy asked. "Hair or nails? Styled or cut? Mani or pedi? Both?"

"A dye-job and a manicure would be nice," Darling requested.

"Really?" Poppy said, blinking slowly in disbelief. Not many people who came in here wanted their hair dyed. That was also a rarity in town.

"Just highlights, actually," Darling confirmed.

Poppy nodded, and snapped her fingers. "Got it," she mused. She waltzed around the Princess Charming and observed the scenery before her. Again, she was slightly surprised that a girl who could take down a troll wanted to be pampered in a salon...

...then again, Poppy realized, if she could be a Roybel - as she called it - then she figured even fighters could enjoy the fancy things.

She opened a drawer, and fiddled through endless bottles of nail polish. "We'll do your nails first," she announced. "Which color do you want?"

Darling thought for a moment, only before her grey eyes started to sparkle. "Surprise me," she replied.

Poppy didn't know why, but she somehow felt intimidated by those starry grey eyes. Framed by lush eyelashes, and almond-shaped, they were sort of remarkable. But enough of that, there was work to do. She slipped a bottle of turquoise color out and shook the bottle. She twisted it open, and sat down in front of Darling, who awaited her salon treatment.

For a second, Poppy seized up when she felt Darling's hand into her own.

Looks could be deceiving: on top, Darling's hands looked so beautiful and elegant, like any typical girl's. Yet the palms were rugged and calloused.

"Huh," Poppy mumbled. She noticed Darling's arched eyebrow, and hesitated. "Um, so... what's your story?"

Darling shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'll only find out once I sign the Storybook of Legends and, well-"

Poppy rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way," she retorted. "Like, your life now. That story." She sighed, and started to paint Darling's thumbnail. "It's weird how everyone automatically thinks destiny when you say story."

Darling let out a soft oh.

She looked down to her torn-up combat boots, and shifted her gaze to the floor. "No one has ever asked me that before," she mused.

Poppy's expression dared to show a smirk as she moved onto the next finger. "Well, people say I'm full of surprises," she said.

Darling glanced back up, giving a small smile. "Is that so, O'Hair?" she teased.

"Back to my question, Charming," Poppy playfully shot back. "Your story is-?"

"I can't tell a story that isn't finished yet, can I now?" Darling said. "My life is still occurring, is it not?"

"So, you're a wise-acre," Poppy mused.

"Excuse me?"

Poppy laughed, surprised at how offended Darling really sounded. "Chill, I was only kidding," she assured. "Although, I am getting a bit of that vibe from you. Is sarcasm a good friend of yours?"

Darling shifted into many different emotions very quickly, until she settled onto contentment. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied, giving a sly smile.

Poppy applied nail polish onto the last finger of Darling's left hand, and nodded thoughtfully. "Ok, so you're a Princess Charming, you fight good but you like girly things, and you're into dry, smart remarks from time to time," she declared. "You're interesting, and I barely know you."

"And you are a short-haired Rapunzel who's got a bit of a sassy and artistic spirit, if I'm not mistaken," Darling replied.

"Not exactly Rapunzel, but close enough," Poppy murmured. She took Darling's right hand, and started working on that.

A moment of silence passed between the two Princesses. They shared brief glances, but they often found easy ways to break eye contact: Poppy would get back to her job, Darling would stare out the window, or they would immediately look away once they met one another's gaze. It wasn't exactly awkward, but still strange nonetheless. To be completely fair, these girls were strangers to one another, yet the vibes they were feeling said otherwise...

Finally, the quiet aura was shattered.

"How come I've never seen you before?" Darling asked.

Poppy hesitated, only before finally finding the correct answer that didn't sound too short. "I'm not taking my mom's destiny, so I didn't attend Ever After High," she explained. "I've worked here, and that's it. I know most of the girls here, but-" She shrugged. "-you know."

Darling pursed her lips, and slightly waved her left hand to dry the nail polish quicker. "So you're a workaholic as well?" she pondered.

Poppy scoffed. "I am not," she argued.

Darling softly chuckled. "I beg to differ," she mused.

Swirling the paint onto Darling's final finger, Poppy placed the brush back into the bottle. "Don't judge me just yet, Charming," she playfully jousted. She placed the nail polish back into the drawers, and grabbed a bottle of blonde hair dye. "Y'know, you remind me of your brother. You're both sassy that way."

"Oh, yes, Dexter's quite the fan of sarcasm," Darling retorted, with a grin. "Daring can't stand it."

"There you go again," Poppy said, with a smile. "In fact, I'm surprised you're not staring at yourself in the mirror and ignoring me."

"Your words wound me, O'Hair," Darling gasped, placing a hand on her chest. She batted her eyes, and pouted. "Whatever after did I do to have such insults brought upon me?"

Poppy giggled, and she shrugged. "Sorry about that," she grinned. "It's just... it's neat, meeting a Princess who isn't obsessed with her story, like everyone else at school."

Darling crossed her legs as she leaned back in the salon chair. "I understand what you mean," she mused.

Once again, a strange silence formed. However, this time, their gaze never broke. Poppy's dark hazel eyes met Darling's sparkling starry grey ones, and their gaze never broke. Poppy felt that odd soaring in her heart from the other day; and she started questioning it. Wasn't this what girls felt in their Happily Ever After? The slight embarrassment, the swooning, the weird sense of joy? She didn't have a happy ending, seeing how she wasn't going to be Rapunzel...

...and this wasn't a Prince Charming.

It was a Princess.

"You know, us Charmings aren't just known for our looks and abilities with a sword," Darling spoke up. She stood up, and faced Poppy, leaving only inches between them both. She brushed a purple lock of hair out of Poppy's face, and smiled. "We all have an appreciation for pretty girls."

"I - I'm sorry?" Poppy stammered, as she felt her face heat up.

"Take a guess," Darling smirked. She placed a kiss on Poppy's cheek, and playfully winked. "I can tell the way you're staring, O'Hair."

Poppy was lost for words, and left swooning for a moment. "Um, I-"

Darling let out a soft laugh. "I'll skip the rest of my beauty treatment," she said. She pulled a handful of gold coins from her dress pocket, and placed them onto the table. "Have a nice day."

Standing still, lost for a while, Poppy felt her emotions sworn and swirl, but all the same, she was delighted. She crossed her arms, leaned up against the salon desk, and watched as Darling left. Poppy's thoughts were dancing, but the only thing she could say was...

"I'll be waiting for my rescue, Charming. I'll be waiting."

author's note: AND THE LOVE STORY BEGINS...

...AND I DIG MYSELF ANOTHER GRAVE...

...yay?