Rating: G
Word count: 550
Humor + Angst
Content warnings: none
Originally requested on twitter by connan_l. First published in December 2020.
"Meeeew! There's nothing better than a pile of desserts after a long day!" Lilja's tray clattered as she sat at the table.
Gunhild glanced down at Lilja's assortment of sweets, then at her face. Taking a quick sip of her soda, she raised an eyebrow. "Plum jelly? That's surprising. I thought you would've gone for an extra ålandspannkaka."
"Mrrr?" Lilja's eyes fell upon the tray. A bowl of deep violet jelly sat amongst the circle of fresh pulla and ålandspannkaka. "I must've grabbed some by accident. Muscle memory and all meow. Guess I've eaten so much of it lately that it feels totally weird to not have it on my plate, even if it's just a little bit meow." She dipped her spoon in and took a bite, its sweetness tickling her tongue as her stomach warmed.
"True, you do steal it every time we eat with Koshka. But wouldn't you rather eat something else? Since she isn't here?"
"I like it just fine meow! I'm too lazy to swap it out with something better now anyway. Why do you care?" It wasn't as if Gunhild was wrong for wondering, though. When Lilja first tried it, she'd forced herself to smirk while keeping it down. Anything and everything to make Koshka react, even it involved her grimy, calloused hands tugging at Lilja's hair. Now it seemed as if the taste had become as natural (though not quite as delicious) as salmiak.
"No reason. Only curious."
"…Is that all?" Lilja raised an eyebrow for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever. Let's eat meow!" She scooped more jelly into her mouth as she went silent. Out of the corner of her eye, Gunhild grinned at her. Slowly Lilja raised her face to meet her gaze. "…What?"
"Oh, nothing. Just that you think about her a lot, don't you?" said Gunhild, smirking.
Lilja rolled her eyes. "Me? Waste my thoughts on that gloomy hick girl? Don't be ridiculous meow." She let out a curt 'heh'. "I only stick with her because she's a constant source of hilarity meow. How could she not be? It'll be a thousand lifetimes before I meet another train wreck as bad as her, so I'm making the most of it meow!"
"So she's special to you."
"T-That's not what I said! You made that up all on your own meooooow!" Lilja felt her face heat up as her heart pounded. Geez, why am I the one being made fun of right now?!
Gunhild giggled. "Alright, alright. That's enough teasing for now." She sipped at her soda. "Anyway, about that band I saw…"
Though she listened to Gunhild's story, a seed had ingrained itself in Lilja's mind. Koshka, special to her? What a joke. This was a mission, not a playdate. Any fun she had with her on the way was simply a perk. And even then, the fun couldn't last forever. Wouldn't last forever. Genuinely enjoying Koshka's company would lead to nothing but complications. Not that she wanted any sort of closeness with her, anyway. Who would? She'd been serious about Koshka being the biggest mess she'd ever seen. Not a single person could want to willingly become friends with her, let alone Lilja.
If only the pounding in her chest would slow down already.