It's been so long since I've posted, sooo... *Lost announcer voice* Previously on Heavy at Midnight....
Chapter 1:
Location: On tour
Plot: Tegan leaves bar early b/c sara is ignoring her. Sara finds Tegan in hotel room in bathrobe. Sara is angry and Tegan apologizes, then Sara tucks Tegan into bed and kisses her on the forehead goodnight.
Chapter 2
Location: Tour bus
Plot: Twins are exhausted. They share Tegan's ipod. Sara fondles Tegan's foot. Bus accident.
Chapter 3
Location: Off road in foreign country
Plot: Phone call with mum. Tegan gives Sara her jacket. Walk. Confession. Kiss.
Chapter 4
Location: On walk
Plot: Vow of silence.
Chapter 5
Location: Backstage
Plot: Hot make-out session.
Chapter 6
Location: Airport, plane, Vancouver
Plot: End of tour. Flight home. Mum's house.
Chapter 7
Location: Mama Quin's kitchen, Christmas eve
Plot: Sara cooking, Tegan flirting. Sara invites Tegan home to Montreal with her. Sara stresses about hiding their love.
(If it isn't obvious, the italicized part is a flashback/memory.)
Chapter 8: Thanks for the Tea
The twins had arrived in Montreal a few days prior and had put off buying groceries until now. They both loved to cook but usually dreaded the first trip to the store after being away for so long. When they were in Vancouver they either ate out, ordered take-out, or went to mom's for meals. They agreed on the flight over, though, that they were going to cook together this time around, despite the fact that they were bound to head to LA no more than a week later and would not get maximum use out of the groceries.
They stayed in until noon, huddled under the down comforter on Sara's queen-sized bed. Sara got up once to turn up the heater and grab the book she had been reading out loud to Tegan. Tegan got up once to pee. By one, they felt deprived enough of food that they decided to get their day rolling. It was the least cold part of the day and thus the opportune time to leave the apartment. Plus, Sara was beginning to feel antsy and if she didn't do something soon she thought she might go mad. They piled on the layers without showering and headed to the bus stop with the prospect of cooking a hot meal for each other and snuggling back up for a movie when they returned home.
.....
The grocery store was bustling with middle-aged French-speaking shoppers who looked just as anxious to get back to their warm homes as the twins were. Tegan was keeping watch over the cart while Sara ran back to the produce section for a couple more tomatoes. Tegan reached for the bag of short-bread cookies she had snuck into the cart and pulled it open to sample one and hopefully ease her poor stomach.
"Sara?" Tegan spun at the sound of her sister's name, fully prepared to explain that she was not Sara but was, in fact, her identical twin sister. Instead, the shortbread she was munching on stuck in her throat and she coughed at the sight of an almost too-familiar face mere feet away from her.
"Tegan?"
Tegan finally spat out, "Emy?"
"What are you---" They both broke off, realizing they were asking the same question, each as shocked to see the other. Emy laughed happily.
"Sara!" Tegan gladly interjected when she saw her sister at the opposite end of the aisle, sauntering toward them with a bright red tomato in each hand.
"Sara!" Emy repeated.
Sara's eyebrows furrowed for a second as she made out the person next to Tegan, but she recognized the voice and figure a lot quicker than she should have. "Emy?"
"Oh my god, you guys! Hi!" Emy bent to drop her grocery basket on the floor then held her arms out to Sara. Tegan chewed slowly and glared as her sister stood on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around her ex-wife's neck. Sara raised her eyebrows at Tegan over Emy's shoulder apologetically. Then Emy turned and pulled Tegan into a tight hug. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to LA?" Emy smiled at her friends, delighted yet confused.
Tegan shrugged, "Change of plans!"
Sara jumped in; it was obvious that Tegan was uncomfortable. They found out that Emy was in Montreal settling the business of her house selling. Sara tried to move the conversation forward but Tegan saw through her downcast eyes and knew in that moment that Sara was still not completely used to the idea of Emy moving on without her in her life--at least, her personal life.
Tegan tilted her head toward the cash register and hinted, "We better get going."
"Well, wait." Emy picked up her basket and walked in between the twins toward the lines of anxious-looking shoppers. "Will you be here for New Year's?"
Sara hesitated before saying, "Yeah, but..."
"Come to my party!"
Tegan groaned under her breath. She turned to face the cashier and rolled her eyes, leaving Sara to stutter and come up with an excuse for them to pass.
"Do you guys even have any plans?"
"Um... We were thinking of maybe going downtown..." She trailed off. Emy could always see through her, she didn't see the point in continuing.
"Oh, come on, Sara. You know that festival is not all it's hyped up to be. Come! Please! It'll be my last party in Montreal, and the guys will be there!" She pouted at Sara.
Sara glanced at Tegan, who widened her eyes and shook her head "no" before bending over to sign the receipt.
"Umm... How about we'll let you know?"
Emy sighed, "Alright. Well I have to go grab a few more things but it is so good to see you two! Call me if you're free before New Year's, okay? We'll get coffee." The comment was obviously directed to Sara.
Sara nodded and the two hugged again. Tegan lifted their bags, motioning for Sara to get the last one.
"Bye, Emy," she said, relieved to see her disappearing behind the magazine stand.
When the twins reached the bus stop, Tegan sighed, "I thought we came to Montreal to escape all the curious eyes and the lying and the sneaking around."
Sara slumped on the bench with her legs splayed out on the sidewalk in front of her. She rested her head on the back of the bench. "I know," she sighed. "I'm sorry, Tee."
"It's okay," Tegan replied, subconsciously mimicking her sister's position. "As long as we don't have to go to her fucking party with all of your friends." Tegan turned and saw her sister's lips moving, but she couldn't hear her response over the racket of the bus pulling up to the curb.
.....
Tegan was putting the last of the groceries away as the tea pot whistled. She poured the boiling water into two matching mugs their mom had given Sara a few Christmases ago. It was the Christmas that she had refused to come home because she had wanted to spend it in New York with Emy's family. That was the Christmas their relationship began to fall apart, and she thought that spending the holidays together would fix everything. The tea set had been jostled across the country and those two cups were the only two that had survived the trip without breaking.
Tegan held one mug in each hand and padded across the wood floor in her socks, toward Sara, who was lying on the couch holding a book over her head. Sara let her book fall on her chest as she watched her sister place the steaming cups on the coffee table before her. She smiled as Tegan then eased herself onto her, closing the distance between their bodies. Tegan moved the book onto the floor and kissed her sister hard. Sara felt their ribs push against each other's, every body part lining up perfectly. They hadn't kissed this passionately since Christmas evening in Vancouver....\
......
Sara didn't think that seeing her sister without a shirt on would be any different than when they changed next to each other on the tour bus. But as Tegan raised her arms and Sara rolled her hands slowly up her sister's torso to pull the black tee over her head, she couldn't help but think that it could not be any more different, in this moment. And she could tell by the way her twins' eyes marveled down at her own pale body that it was different for Tegan, too.
They spent most of that moment exploring. Sara's lips found their way across Tegan's collarbone, then down, between her breasts. Her hands traveled south and grabbed at the smooth skin on the small of her sister's back. Sara then eased her arched back onto the bedding and listened to her heart pound in her ears. Her eyes glued themselves to the shrinking gap between Tegan's stomach and her own....
"Stop, Tegan," Sara tensed her muscles and Tegan's hands paused on her sister's hips.
She looked up. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm sorry..." Sara bit her lip and turned her head. "I don't know..."
Tegan rolled off of her sister and onto her back. Tegan's body warmth leaving her reminded her of her lack of clothing, and Sara pulled the covers up to her bra, suddenly self-conscious.
"You just need to stop thinking about it, Sar." She turned on her side and propped her head on her hand. "It's just me."
"Exactly, Tee.... it's you...." Sara closed her eyes and turned into the crook of Tegan's arm. "...my sister."
......
Sara broke away, trying to savor the memory and shake it from her mind at the same time. "So... I'm thinking maybe we should make an appearance at Emy's party."
Tegan moaned and let her face fall to the side of Sara's head. She breathed in the scent of her sister's shampoo and exhaled heat onto Sara's neck. "Why?" she mumbled against her sister's skin.
Sara trailed her fingers along the dips of her sister's back, where bare skin met jeans. "Because if we don't, she's gunna know something's up."
"So what? Something is up. I'm still pissed at her for fucking you up."
".....thanks."
Tegan lifted herself up again, "Not like that. Just, you know."
"Yeah... I know." Sara wheezed lightly and Tegan pushed herself off of her sister. She eased herself onto the floor, legs spread underneath the coffee table. Sara coughed and pushed herself into a sitting position.
Tegan reached for the tea and handed Sara's to her. "Do you need your puffer?"
Sara smiled, blowing across the surface before sipping from the cup. "Thanks for the tea." Sara watched from the couch as Tegan reached for her own cup and sipped, seemingly content. Sara wished she could thank her sister for everything else that she wanted to thank her for. But for now, she supposed that "thanks for the tea" would have to do.
.................
*Lost announcer voice* Coming soon on Heavy at Midnight.... The twins prepare for a special New Year's Eve out on the town! But will a call from mom and the watchful eyes of Sara's ex-lover stop them from experiencing the night of a lifetime? Stay tuned to find out!
