AN: Sorry for the long wait on this, I've been swamped with school and traveling and life. I hope you guys like this chapter.
Kuvira rolled over and opened her eyes. Light streamed through the small window in the back and caught Kuvira right in the eye. She groaned. If the sun was in her face, it must have been close to 11 o'clock. She never slept in that late, even on a Saturday. Kuvira looked behind her at the empty space in her bed where Su had been the night before. At least that was what Kuvira thought had happened, she wouldn't have put it past herself to have dreamt the whole thing. There was no way that Su had been there last night. She rolled out of bed and trudged up the stairs, not caring that she probably looked like a mess.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Su greeted Kuvira cheerfully as she walked into the kitchen. "Coffee?" Kuvira nodded and sat down at the bar across from Su. Su tilted her head and looked at Kuvira as she poured a cup of coffee. "Did you sleep well? Are you… all right?"
Kuvira took the cup from Su and looked down into its dark brown depths. "Yeah, I guess so. " She paused to look up at Su. "This business with Anna isn't really over, is it?"
Su sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Baatar's upstairs puzzling over what to do about it. I was just going to take him some coffee. Do you want to talk with him?"
Kuvira felt like she should sit down with Baatar and talk about what was happening, but then Kuvira looked into Su's eyes. In that moment, all she wanted to do was kiss Suyin. Kuvira looked down quickly. Where had that come from? She thought she had pushed away all her feelings for Su. "Um yeah. I'll go talk to him."
"Good." Su said. "Would you take this up to him, then?" She handed Kuvira a second mug of coffee, her hand lingering on Kuvira's. She locked eyes with Kuvira, and what Kuvira saw there all but screamed that Kuvira hadn't been dreaming about the previous night. And that scared Kuvira. She took the coffee and practically bolted up the stairs away from Su and her feelings.
"Hey Baatar, Su sent me with coffee." Kuvira ducked into Baatar's office. He spun around in his chair to look at her. Kuvira could see dark bags under his eyes, and Baatar's normally perfectly coiffed hair was messy. He looked like he had been up all night.
"Oh, thank you, Kuvira. I've been up all night. I couldn't stop thinking about Anna and all this -" He gestured at the two of them. "And I've come up with a plan to fix this. It's rather simple; Su wanted to get back at Anna, but I don't feel that would be right. Su's far more vindictive than I, but you shouldn't hold that against her."
"Baatar, you're rambling." Kuvira couldn't blame him though. He'd stayed up all night trying to fix her mess. She felt awful about it. But it was interesting to learn that Su had a vindictive streak. Kuvira hated how much that turned her on. She shouldn't have had feelings for Su at all.
"Ah, sorry. I get rambly when I'm tired. So, the plan." He motioned for Kuvira to take a seat. "On Monday, you'll give Anna all your stuff on the project and tell her that she got moved into the position…" Baatar kept talking. Kuvira listened intently for the better part of an hour, nodding and interjecting with questions only when necessary. He was entirely over explaining it, but Kuvira let him. He was doing this for her.
Su joined them later and perched on the arm of Kuvira's chair. She helped make Baatar's exhausted, coffee fueled rambling make sense. However, Su's close proximity didn't help with Kuvira's ability to focus. She couldn't get her mind off the night before, when Su had lain in bed with her and had held Kuvira.
"So, you got all that?" Su looked down at Kuvira and grinned.
"Uh yeah." Truth be told, Kuvira wasn't thrilled about the plan. She was worried that something would fall through. There was no way that Kuvira could get in trouble, but she would worry anyway.
"Well, great then!" Su exclaimed. She clapped Kuvira on the shoulder before giving Baatar a kiss. She left.
Kuvira fiddled with her coffee mug and stood to leave. "Wait, Kuvira." Baatar said. He motioned for her to sit down. She complied. "Are you sure that you're okay with all of this? I know it's a lot, and I don't want to force you to do anything that you're uncomfortable with."
"No! I'm totally cool with all of this. Are you sure that it'll work, though?" Kuvira was grateful for Baatar's concern, but she was ready to do this, concerns aside.
"Good, that's good." Baatar smiled at her and turned back to his desk, muttering to himself. Kuvira got up and went back downstairs.
Kuvira found Su sitting in the living room reading when she came downstairs. Su glanced up at her as she took her mug into the kitchen. "Kuvira, could you come here for a second?"
Kuvira frowned and went back to the living room. "What's up?" She sat down on the couch next to Su.
Su took one of Kuvira's hands between hers. "Kuvira, are you sure about all this? We tried to make it as fool-proof as possible, but that small percent of error… I just want to know that you're okay with all of this." Su's brows knitted together as she gazed at Kuvira.
Kuvira looked down at their hands, Su's slightly darker than her own. "Su, it's not even a risk for me. I'll be fine."
"Okay, just don't put too much on yourself. Baatar and I can take care of each other and you, if need be. This is not all on you." Kuvira looked back up at Su, startled. Yes, Su had said that she cared about Kuvira before, but she had never said it so explicitly, with such meaning. Su leaned forward and rested her forehead against Kuvira's. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
Kuvira pulled away from Su, shocked. Su looked at her with furrowed brows. "No one's ever cared that much about me before," Kuvira said. Su's eyebrows raised in surprise, then she enveloped Kuvira in a hug. Kuvira delicately placed her hands on Su's back. She wasn't sure how to go about this. Hugs and emotions weren't really her thing, per say. So she just let Su hug her. It felt nice to be wrapped in Suyin's arms; Kuvira felt safe like this. She could stay right here, in Su's arms, forever. But all too soon, Su let go of Kuvira and sat back.
"Well that's different now." Su stated. She placed a kiss on Kuvira's cheek then left.
On Monday morning, Kuvira woke up tired. She almost wanted to tell Su and Baatar that she couldn't do it, but Kuvira knew that they would disappointed. She wanted that less than to carry out the plan. So Kuvira got up and went upstairs.
She said a quick hello to Su and Baatar before diving into her breakfast. Baatar was ready to go by the time she was done eating, and Kuvira was glad for it. Because every time she looked at Suyin, Kuvira felt a warmth in her chest and a flutter in her stomach, and she needed to repress those feelings.
Kuvira and Baatar walked into the office together. She looked over at Anna's desk and saw her and David hovering there. She ignored them and walked to her desk and put her things down. Kuvira took a deep breath. It was time.
Kuvira picked up her binders on the project and walked over to Anna and David. Anna had a slight grin on her face. Instead of dropping the binders on Anna's desk, Kuvira handed them to David. "Congrats David," she said. "You're on the project." Kuvira gave the both of them a smile and practically waltzed back to her desk. The look on Anna's face had made it all worth it.
As she sat down, Kuvira thought back to Baatar and Su's explanation of the whole thing. They had decided that it would be better to give David the project. That way Kuvira would be in the clear, and she could get back at Anna for accusing her of sleeping with Baatar. Kuvira looked over at David and Anna; she could tell that Anna was fuming. It made the darker part of Kuvira happy to see that. She watched as David got called into the project meeting, and as Anna went on with her other, much smaller project.
Kuvira was practically giddy as she and Baatar got home. She couldn't wait to tell Su about the look on Anna's face. Su was waiting for them in the kitchen. "How'd it go?" she asked.
"Good. Kuvira did her part perfectly." Baatar gave Su a peck on the cheek before retreating to his office.
Su turned to Kuvira, beaming. "That's wonderful, Kuvira. Now tell me, was Anna furious?" She moved around the bar to lean on it.
Kuvira jumped up on the bar next to Su. "Yes! She fumed at her desk in silence all day. I could hear the angry typing from across the room. Everything went perfectly." Kuvira rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward. She was happier than she had been in a long time, and was thrilled that Su seemed to share her enthusiasm. Kuvira stole a glance at the older woman. She was staring into space.
"Kuvira," Su said suddenly. She moved in front of Kuvira. The way she was sitting, Kuvira was at the same eye level as Su. Kuvira tried to look anywhere but at Su's piercing eyes, but Su gently grabbed her face and forced Kuvira to look at her. "If you want me to stop, just say so."
Kuvira opened her mouth to ask what Su meant, but before she could, Su's mouth was on hers. Kuvira's eyes widened as Su kissed her. But she let them slip closed as she reciprocated, her lips closing around Su's.
Su broke away from Kuvira, panting lightly. She pulled her hands from Kuvira's face. "I hope that was all right. I mean, I just assumed what you wanted, but if you don't, then I'm sorry." Su looked away from Kuvira.
Kuvira was shocked. She had never heard Su be so unsure of herself. She grabbed Su's hands and placed them on her own hips, drawing the older woman closer. "I wanted it." Kuvira placed her hands on either side of Su's face and drew her back in for another kiss.