Hello hello, I have a few notes to make at the end of this chapter, just about some personal stuff (nothing to do with the posting schedule, don't worry) so I won't take up too much of your time up here. I hope you all enjoy reading and I will see you at the end. - J
Chapter 26: Away
Strangely enough, Lexi never appeared again. Sophie did send her a text, offering an apology for the death threats, but explained that they probably shouldn't be friends anymore. She received nothing but a middle finger emoji back, so she assumed the woman agreed.
Aside from that, the rest of the school year carried on much the same as it had; Kelly turned up every month or so and they spoke on the phone often. Sophie spent time with her cousin, her friends, worked hard in her lessons and played around on her bike. It was astonishingly peaceful, and before anyone knew it, the school year was drawing to a close.
Determined to enjoy some uninterrupted time together, maybe for the first time since they'd met, Soph and Kelly decided they wanted to go on holiday. Kelly booked three weeks off of work, and together they sat in front of a computer and plotted out a slightly bank-breaking meander through a few places they both wanted to see. They debated limiting it to a smaller trip, but given Kelly's work, and the fact that Soph would soon also have a job to consider, it seemed like the only chance they might have to take a decent break, at least for a good few years.
Annoyingly, Kelly had to pay for most of it, since Sophie was an unemployed student, and the sizeable lump of money she did have stashed away was reserved for something else. However, said 'something else' would hopefully even the score a little, but that was a whole other situation.
"Do you ever get bored of lurking up here?" Annabelle's voice made her jump and Soph glanced over her shoulder with a smirk.
"Nah, it's a calling." She shifted over to leave some space near the chimney stack, knowing her dear cousin preferred having something to hold onto if she was going to stand near the edge. Sure enough, the girl moved to stand beside her, one hand on the bricks for security.
"Saw your results, you did really well." She sounded genuinely pleased, Soph arched a brow with a smirk.
"What an incredible violation of privacy." She snarked back but she couldn't pretend to be actually upset. Her exam results had been pretty sweet; As and Bs across the board.
"But thanks, how'd you do?" She tipped her head and Annabelle smiled.
"Pretty good." She ducked her head, a flash of her old, bashful self that had Sophie rolling her eyes.
"So… Straight As then?" She arched a brow and Annabelle's grin was enough to confirm. Bloody smart woman. Clapping a hand to her shoulder, Soph laughed.
"No surprises there, well done." They shared a grin before Sophie took her hand back, letting out a long breath.
"Camilla offer you a spot here too?" She addressed the horizon, Annabelle hummed her affirmative.
"Roxy's asked me to come on tour with her, but when we get back, yeah." She sounded content with the plan, Soph smiled.
"She'll be glad to have you, I declined." She explained and felt the other girl turn to look at her in surprise.
"I want to get my own place… Not far, probably around London." She shrugged, still watching the trees, even as she saw her cousin's knowing smirk in the corner of her eye.
"Asked Kelly yet?" She sounded far too smug, Soph turned to scowl.
"Shut up…" She turned her gaze to the wall.
"I will… Eventually." Her grumbled admission seemed to soften Annabelle's amusement.
"You know she'll say yes, right?" A hand appeared on Sophie's arm and she looked at it as her cousin spoke gently.
"She loves you, and you guys have been living together for over a year already. Moving into a new place isn't exactly going to change that." Annabelle continued and Soph shook her hand off with a groan.
"Yeah, I know, I know. I've been telling myself that for days. Look, I'll get around to it." She flapped her hand about as if trying clear her words from the air. She still blushed like a dickhead when Kelly said stuff like that, she couldn't handle it from her cousin too.
Shaking off the embarrassment, she nudged the woman with her shoulder.
"You and Roxy covered that shit yet?" It was her turn to smirk as Annabelle quickly looked away, a deep blush creeping up her neck.
"No… but er… I…" She mumbled for a moment before Soph laughed, reaching over to sling an arm about her shoulders.
"You'll get there kid. Just make sure you say it without anyone else around, someone might ruin your moment." She squeezed gently and they both burst out laughing.
Yeah, she'd definitely be staying somewhere not too far away, she'd miss this idiot otherwise.
Down in the dorms, the twins were packing with expected reluctance, Soph grinned as she leaned against a nearby bunkbed.
"Sulking, girls?" She tipped her head and they both turned to pout. They never wanted to go home. Sighing, she moved away from the bed, coming forward to drop a hand onto each of their shoulders.
"Hey now, you guys will be the last of the heist crew kicking around this joint once me and Annabelle are gone." She crouched to meet their eye line and tried not to think about how much taller they'd gotten in the last couple years.
"Spend your summer working on your skills, keeping this place in one piece is no joke. I will be back to check." She kept her tone stern, but allowed half a smirk to pull at her lips. The pair grinned.
"You can count on us." They spoke in sync and Soph straightened up.
"I know I can." She allowed herself a proud smile and the terrible two almost bowled her over with a hug. It warmed her heart in a way she would never admit to a soul.
Having already packed, she dropped her luggage down into the pile by the door and went to bed; it would be an early morning tomorrow, followed by a whole lot of travel, and she wanted to be on top of her game.
Pulling on her uniform in the morning, she paused at her reflection in the mirror. This would be the last time she'd wear this thing… A strange sense of sadness filled her at the idea. Well, she supposed it wasn't really so strange. These last two years might have actually been the best of her life. Everyone she'd met… most of the things she'd done… It had all changed her so much, entirely for the better. She was happy, and none of it would have happened if she hadn't come here. Her mum's place had never been home, her dad's in America hadn't either. Cheltenham was comfortable, but god knew she didn't fit in, and every place after that had been a prison, nothing more. This place was home; her first home. Somehow she knew, that no matter what happened, uniform or not, she could come back here and be home. It wasn't just hers either. Any girl who'd passed through those doors could say the same. Her aunt had created a hell of a place here. Sharing a grin with herself, she ran a hand through her hair. Time to go to work.
The breakfast hall was always emptier on leaving day; half the school hurriedly packing after having put it off until the last minute. Soph found Annabelle and Roxy seated with Chelsea, she dropped in to sit next to the soon-to-be-ex totty with a smile.
"'morning." She raised her glass in mock salute and the three returned her greeting cheerfully; everyone seemed to be in a good mood today.
"I was just saying to Chelsea, it's going to be a busy morning. Roxy and I will take the older half, you and Chelsea on the younger. Roxy and Chelsea you're on bags, make sure everyone takes their stuff, and only their stuff, Soph, you'll be with me on lists, make sure everyone goes with the right person. Any questions?" The Head Girl spoke decisively, Soph arched a brow.
"What about runners?" She tipped her head and the other woman smirked.
"I've enlisted Celia for that." She settled back in her chair in an oddly smug pose and Soph shared a confused look with Chelsea. Celia? The girl wouldn't exactly be Sophie's first choice to wrangle reluctant St. Trinian's students. She looked to Roxy for some kind of explanation but the blonde simply shrugged, a strangely knowing smirk on her lips. Something weird was going on there.
It turned out, Celia was a very correct choice. Time and time again, she escorted missing students to Sophie to be checked out by the appropriate adults, seemingly without resistance. Her best guess would be that the girl's relentlessly calm air was somehow hypnotising them, pied piper style, and as the crowds dwindled, Soph nudged her cousin with her elbow.
"How did you know Celia would be so good at this?" She frowned and Annabelle smirked.
"I've been watching her for a few months now. She's got an interesting talent for this sort of thing." She looked over to the girl in question as she spoke.
"She's smart, and good with the girls. Did you know she's in the year below us?" Annabelle folded her arms, and Soph realised what she was getting at.
"She's your pick for head girl, isn't she?" She arched a brow and her cousin nodded once.
"She is. What do you think?" At most, she sounded curious, obviously secure in her decision. Sophie hummed in thought.
"Seems worth a shot." She shrugged. She honestly hadn't thought about it, which was weird for her, but she trusted Annabelle's judgement. That was also weird, but her cousin had earned it, she'd been a good Head Girl… Not the best, that title was reserved for one woman alone, but she'd been pretty damn great. A testament to that was in the portrait now hung in the entrance hall. It seemed that the girls of St. Trinian's had created an unspoken rule; if a Head Girl was loved by the school, they got a portrait hung up somewhere. There would probably some kind of commemoration for a terrible Head Girl too, but she doubted it would be a portrait. Somehow though, she couldn't imagine any successors being all that bad, they had to be chosen for the position, after all.
Bianca, Zoe and Lucy stopped by to say their goodbyes; Chelsea pulled her in for a slightly tearful hug, making her promise to keep in touch. Soph had readily agreed. Chelsea had done a lot for her over the years, and considering how their friendship began, it was utterly bizarre that they had remained such good friends without any trace of awkwardness. She would miss her. The twins appeared and Soph fished around in her pocket.
"Here girls, do me a solid?" She beckoned them over and they hurried up to stand at attention. Pulling the keys from her pocket, she nodded toward the shed they all kept their bikes in.
"I don't know if I'll have anywhere for it and you two can't share yours forever. Look after my bike for me?" She tossed the keys over with a grin and Tania caught them.
"You got it." Tara gave a solemn nod and the pair beamed before tackling her to the ground. Soph couldn't help but laugh as she hugged them back. They both had both hers and Kelly's numbers, just in case, and you could be damn sure Soph would be checking up on them often.
With the list down to the last few, Soph jogged back inside to change. Travelling in her school uniform seemed like a terrible idea. As she returned, she was met with Annabelle and Roxy, scowling at a bag.
"Whose is it?" Roxy sounded confused.
"I have no idea, it's not on the list… Should we check for bombs?" Annabelle stuck her hands on her hips, Sophie chuckled as she stepped up behind them.
"No need for that, I left the bombs in chemistry." She smirked and the pair spun to face her.
"It's yours?" Her cousin tipped her head and Soph tucked her hands into her pockets. She'd dressed comfortably, black jeans, an old band t-shirt, converse and the leather jacket Kelly had bought her. They'd be in the car, then on a plane for some time and she wasn't an idiot.
"Yep." She stopped just short of them, Roxy folded her arms.
"Who's coming to claim you?" She snarked and Soph laughed. In the distance, she heard a loud engine.
Even when she couldn't hear the conversation, the bloody woman had a sense of dramatic timing.
"Almost here, apparently." She rolled her eyes as a familiar two seater appeared around the final corner, speeding toward them far too fast.
"Bloody show off." She chuckled to herself folding her arms across her chest as it cornered sharply and skidded to a halt, half turned back the way it came. It was the Tesla roadster again. The top was up and the windows darkly tinted, so the driver was invisible until she opened the door and stepped out, looking much too pleased with herself as she strode around the car.
Stepping between her cousin and Roxy, Soph took her in. It had been about two months since she'd last appeared; she'd had another haircut, and gained a little more of a tan since Soph had last laid eyes on her. Both looked good on her, as did the t-shirt and blazer combination she was wearing, paired with dangerously form fitting skinny jeans and black ankle boots. Goddamn, they really should have left more time between meeting up and catching the plane…
"You're late." Soph folded her arms across and tipped her head. Kelly rolled her eyes, hands falling to her hips.
"Get your ass over here, Daniels." She scowled playfully and Soph grinned, her legs moving before her brain kicked in, but she wasn't complaining. The moment she was close enough, she found herself pulled into a kiss. A weight Soph hadn't realised she'd been carrying toppled from her shoulders and she hummed contentedly against the older woman's lips, delighting in the long fingers that slid into her hair. She caught Kelly about the waist but held back from pulling her closer, dimly aware of their audience.
They lingered in the moment until they had to move apart for air, but stayed close, their heads resting together.
"I missed you." Soph sighed and Kelly gave a quiet chuckle, leaning in for another kiss.
"We have a plane to catch." Her tone was edged with regret, Soph shared the sentiment. Heaving a sigh, she offered a slight pout as she pulled away, but shoved it back as she turned to Annabelle and Roxy.
"We've got to head off. Give me a call when you get back and we'll have dinner or something." She spoke to her cousin, who beamed.
"Will do. You guys have fun." She picked up the bag on the floor to throw to her and Soph caught it with a grin.
"You too." With a wink, she turned back to the car, tossing the bag to Kelly to put in the boot while she climbed into her seat.
"Oh, and Roxy…" She paused, half in, and turned back to the pair.
"Look after my cousin." It wasn't a question, and the blonde straightened almost imperceptibly as she nodded. Soph grinned once more, content with the unspoken promise as she settled into her seat. Moments later, Kelly joined her, and they were speeding away from the school at a break-neck pace.
"So, who'd she pick?" Of course that was Kelly's first question, Soph repressed a smirk.
"Janie." She kept her gaze on the road, her tone casual. In the corner of her eye, she saw the woman's head whip around to face her, a brief expression of mild terror on her face. Soph allowed herself a small smile and Kelly immediately deflated, batting her arm as she redirected her attention to the road.
"You're an ass." She sighed and Soph flashed a grin.
"Yep. And she chose Celia." She turned to watch her reaction carefully, curious. Jones hummed in thought, but didn't seem surprised.
"Haven't spoken to her properly in a while, but I can see that…" She nodded slowly, Soph arched a brow.
"I never really spoke to her much." She settled back against the door with a shrug but Kelly smirked.
"No-one does, that's why she's so spooky. She doesn't talk to too many people, but when she does, it's usually kind of important, so people just… Do it." She paused, apparently still thinking it through herself.
"Plus she's capable of staying calm even in chaos, which is pretty much essential for a Head Girl… Yeah, I'd say there are worse choices." She nodded decisively, Soph chuckled to herself.
"I'll tell Annabelle you approve." She smirked and considered actually texting her cousin, it would probably put her mind at ease a little, but she was sure Annabelle was confident enough in her choice without their help.
The drive wasn't actually that long, parking, taking the shuttle, checking their bags and getting through security took longer. It had been a while since she'd been through an airport, to the point where she'd actually needed to renew her passport for this trip, and she couldn't say she'd missed it. Jones seemed to take it all in her stride, and as they queued for the metal detector, Soph glanced over with a slight smirk.
"You did leave your gun at home, right?" She slipped an arm around her waist, under her jacket, keeping her voice low to avoid chaos if one of the security overheard that. Of course, there was nothing there, but Kelly's eyes danced with mischief.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She muttered back and for a moment, Sophie was honestly unsure whether the woman was serious or not.
Of course, the detector revealed that she wasn't packing, at least not on her person. Though somehow, Sophie got a feeling that if Kelly wanted to take a weapon on holiday with them, she'd find a way. Or, in all fairness, she could probably improvise well enough to not require one.
On the plane, Sophie winced as her ears popped on the way up. It really had been a few years and she'd forgotten how much it hurt.
"You good?" Kelly noticed, because of course she did and Soph offered a slightly pained smile.
"It'll pass in a second, I have delicate ears." She shrugged but the other woman took her hand, squeezing gently.
"What did you do?" She arched a brow and Soph grinned as she settled back against her seat. Of course, she'd guess right.
"Fireworks incident, my own fault, obviously." She tangled their fingers together and smirked at the memory.
"Lost hearing in my left ear for like, three weeks. Pretty sure I still have diminished hearing on that side, to be honest." She shrugged and Kelly chuckled.
"Was it worth it?" She tipped her head and Soph hummed in mock thought.
"Scared the hell out of the choir club." She grinned and they shared a laugh.
This trip was going to be great.
Kelly fell asleep on the plane, which was hilarious, at least it was for Sophie, who took several spectacularly angled pictures and sent them off to the group chat to keep herself entertained. Jones was less than amused when she woke up, though she certainly got her own back when she dragged a, barely-reluctant, Soph off toward the bathroom, only to lock her in and return to her seat. Sophie had to get one of the flight crew to help her out, it was decidedly more embarrassing than she'd have liked.
They called a truce for the rest of the flight, just in case their shenanigans led to something more damaging to the plane than a busted bathroom lock. Honestly, with them, it was a reasonable concern to have.
Their first destination was Crete, so roughly five hours later, they made it into the hotel.
It was just past nine in the evening, though seven to them, so Soph had only been up for about twelve hours, but it had been a long and exhausting twelve hours. With this in mind, she ignored most of the room, moving straight to the bed and flopping back down onto it with a heavy sigh.
Kelly's chuckle in the doorway announced her arrival.
"Tired?" She leaned against the frame and Soph smirked, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Some of us didn't have a nap." She snarked before a thought occurred to her.
"And I suppose some of us are more used to travelling." She smirked and Kelly nodded slowly.
"Fair point. Need a rest?" She pushed off from the doorway and stalked further into the room, shrugging out of her blazer and tossing it onto the nearby chest of drawers. Sophie swallowed hard and pushed up onto her hands, too familiar with that walk. A familiar low heat ignited low in her stomach.
"Not a chance." She sat up properly in time for Kelly to settle comfortably in her lap, knees tight against her hips and a far too smug smirk on her face.
"You sure?" Her tone turned teasing, her hands coming to rest on her shoulders, squeezing gently. Soph arched a brow, pausing for half a beat before she caught the woman about the waist and rolled to the side, settling above her with a grin.
"Pretty damn sure."
The moon was high in the sky by the time Sophie made it out onto the balcony. Happily exhausted and more than ready for bed, she opened the doors to let the cool night air into their room but found herself stepping out to admire the view. Even in the dark, it was beautiful. They were right on the coast, the sea only a twenty minute walk from their hotel, so even though the building wasn't too tall, she could still clearly see it; an inky black pool beneath the star spotted sky. She stayed there, leaning on the low wall, until arms appeared about her waist.
"Found a place to stand dramatically already?" Kelly's voice came low beside her ear and Soph smiled, relaxing back against her.
"Just admiring the view." She paused for a moment, enjoying the stillness.
"Ready?" She turned her head toward Jones, who pressed a kiss to her temple.
"Let's get some sleep, lots to do tomorrow." And with that she took her hand, leading her back to the big comfortable bed they'd already become so acquainted with.
Waking up was delightful. They'd obviously slept in, and for once, there was no guilt attached to it. They had nothing to do, no-where to be, and no-one who needed them. They lay tangled together, the covers low about their waists as the hot morning passed by around them. It was a little too warm, but Soph was far from bothered enough to move away. If anything, she shifted closer, pressing a kiss to the chest beneath her head and smiling at the tired hum as Jones stirred.
"Why are you awake?" It was a valid question, grumbled from above her. Soph chuckled, pulling herself up to smile down at her adorably scrunched up expression. Jones cracked open one eye before shutting it tightly once more with a groan.
"Nope, too early." She threw an arm over her face and Soph chuckled as she leaned down, having to tilt her head fully to the side to reach her lips around the offending limb. When she moved back once more, the arm moved to reveal a look of sulky resignation.
"Kiss me again, get me a coffee, or I'm going back to sleep." She opened her eyes and Soph grinned as they found her, amusement dancing behind the grumpy act. Shaking her head, she chose option one and swept back down. It would be a good while yet before they got out of bed today.
Room service delivered them a late lunch after a very long shower, and Kelly declared that she wanted to go swimming. It was kind of late in the day to bother with a trip to the beach, so they opted for the hotel pool. Honestly, Sophie hadn't been swimming in years, so she'd needed to do a little shopping after they'd booked their trip. Swimwear was an odd one for her, considering that it, generally speaking, didn't cover much. To that effect, as she changed into the bikini top she'd bought (black, obviously), she pulled a t-shirt over the top, pairing it with a pair of blue and black camo swimming trunks, sandals and dark shades. Frankly, she wasn't much of a warm weather person; she got hot too easily and struggled to cool down afterwards, but she could live with it for a while.
Kelly, of course, had no problem wandering around in a beautifully made two-piece in a dark deep red that contrasted spectacularly with her pale skin. The woman had gained a bit of a tan from her various travels, but she was naturally fair skinned, and tended to freckle more than tan. Sophie, in contrast, was more olive-toned, inherited from her father's side, and thus, when she did go out in the sun, tanned deeply and quickly. However, all of that information was buzzing around, completely ignored, in the back of her head as the rest of her mental capacity was taken up with something along the lines of:
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn
"You've literally seen me naked, and you can't handle a swim-suit?" Kelly folded her arms, which did not help Sophie regain her faculties, but sounded mildly amused as she caught her staring. Soph took a moment to reacquire the use of speech, dragging her gaze back up to the woman's face.
"One: can you blame me?" She held up a single finger and spoke with conviction.
"Two…" She paused, giving herself time to formulate this next part properly.
"I can never handle you. Swimwear, work clothes, that fluffy grey dressing gown of yours…" She waved a hand in the air as if to gesture to the various items.
"You are always, absolutely stunning…" She deadpanned, but as she moved forward and caught the woman about the waist, she allowed herself a smirk.
"If the staring bothers you, I can try to stop, it'll be hard though." She chuckled and Kelly shook her head and a smile.
"I think I can live with it, just try and keep your eyes in your head in public." She draped her arms about her shoulders and Soph reached up to knock her shades down from on top of her head to over her eyes.
"What do you think these are for?" She flashed a grin and Kelly laughed, plucking them from her face to lean down and, quite frankly, kiss her senseless.
It was a little while before they actually went down to the pool.
Walking together, their hands joined between them and a towel under each of their arms, Soph might have felt a little more than smug. Obviously, she loved Kelly for a lot of reasons that had nothing to do with how ridiculously hot she was, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel about ten feet tall walking beside her.
The pool was easy to find, and fortunately, there were a couple of loungers still free, so they unrolled their towels and Soph dropped down to recline in the shade. Jones, however, pulled a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair back, kicking off her sandals.
"Going swimming, Jones?" Soph raised her glasses to admire the view a little better and Kelly smirked down at her.
"It's what we came down here for. You staying here?" She tipped her head, understanding edging her tone, and Soph shrugged.
"For now, you go ahead." Letting her shades drop once more, she tucked her hands behind her head with a contented smile. Jones lingered for another moment before heading over to the pool. From where she lay, Soph had a great view of her smooth dive into the water.
Bloody show-off.
Even in the shade, it was hot, but not too unbearable yet; as long as no-one expected her to move around much, she might actually be able to tolerate it.
What was starting to bother her, was one specific man across the pool. He seemed like your typical twenty-something on a 'lad's holiday' with his friends; harmless enough, and not as obnoxious as your usual collection of idiots, but for a couple of minutes now, they seemed to be attempting to egg their friend on to do something. Sophie had a pretty good guess at what that something was.
Sure enough, a not long later, when Kelly stopped at the edge of the pool for some reason or other, the boy got to his feet.
He had confidence, she'd give him that. It had clearly taken some persuading, but as he made his way over, there was no trace of hesitation or sheepishness. He was actually kind of pretty, not beefy, but slim, his hair nicely styled and his probably terrible beard wisely clean-shaven. He was mostly dressed, with dark board shorts and a light shirt worn open. There were beads, and the edge of a pretty fresh-looking tribal tattoo could be seen on his chest, but small mistakes were valid when there was beer involved.
He stopped beside her and seemed to be introducing himself. Briefly, Soph considered going over, but one, that seemed like a whole lot of effort, two, Kelly could more than handle him by herself, and three… Being that territorial was just a dick move. Instead, she settled back to watch as Jones politely declined whatever that guy was offering, allowing herself a slight smirk as he made a hasty retreat. She really shouldn't have been surprised when Kelly turned and shot her a knowing smile, but she simply shrugged back with a grin.
Jones returned not long later, and they settled down to have a couple of drinks in the sun. However, following Kelly's expression of utter bemusement, Soph felt the need to defend herself.
"Don't knock the tiny umbrella." She pointed a warning finger in her direction and Kelly took a sip of her, decidedly boring, drink, before answering.
"The tiny umbrella is not the problem. You're drinking pure sugar from an oversized eggcup." She deadpanned, Soph pointedly plucked said tiny umbrella from the mentioned sugary blue liquid, to eat the cherry off the end. Honestly, the magnitude of the eye roll thrown her way probably should have had some kind of tidal effect on the pool.
"It's delicious, and let's face it…" She paused to take a drink. Pure sugar or not, the alcohol content of this thing was kind of nuts, and she'd already had two, putting her somewhere between comfortably buzzed and mildly drunk.
"It's not like I have a reputation to maintain here. The only person who knows me is you, and you already know I'm ridiculous." She grinned and the other woman laughed.
"That's true." She shook her head and leaned over, claiming a brief kiss that only broadened Sophie's grin. A thought occurred to her then, and she paused. Kelly arched a questioning brow and Soph took a long drink. She'd made a good point, who here was she ever going to see again, really?
"I'm going to go for a swim before I have any more of these and it becomes a hazard." She set her drink down and stood, stretching her arms above her head and pointedly ignoring the flash of concern on the other woman's face.
"You know how to swim?" Her teasing was appreciated, Soph shot her a wink.
"Been a while, but yeah. Best be ready to dive in though, if I get mouth to mouth from anyone but you, I'm going to be pissed." She reached for the hem of her shirt and, before she could lose her nerve, pulled it off over her head.
The hot sun was actually kind of delightful on her skin, and without her t-shirt, she could actually appreciate the cool breeze coming in from the coast. She didn't look around, half certain no-one would even notice and if they did, who would be rude enough to say anything? Casting one last smirk to Kelly, who grinned back, she took off toward the pool.
The water was cool, almost cold to her slightly-overheated skin, but as she lingered beneath the surface, she took a moment to enjoy it. It had been years since she'd been in water. She didn't even really do baths, preferring showers, and having spent a large portion of her life at boarding schools where there were none. She'd forgotten how much she missed it.
Swimming a couple of lengths, she stared off kind of clumsy, but vague memories of swimming lessons from childhood and just plain trial and error soon had her moving at a vaguely reasonable pace without looking too much like a drowning otter. It was more tiring than she remembered, and soon she rolled onto her back to float and catch her breath, pushing her hair from her eyes with a grin that only grew as a familiar face smiled down at her.
"Having fun, Daniels?" Kelly folded her arms as she leaned over from the side of the pool, clearly amused by her antics. Soph shrugged.
"Join me and see for yourself?" She raised her brows suggestively and Kelly laughed, shaking her head.
"In a public pool? Gross." She wrinkled her nose and Sophie considered this for a moment before a terrible shudder passed over her. That truly was a disgusting thought, scowling, she redirected her gaze to the woman.
"Buzzkill." She grumbled, rolling over to move to the edge.
"I think that's enough swimming for today, give me a hand?" She reached up and Kelly chucked as she took it, however, that amusement was quickly whipped from her face as Soph used that grip to pull the other woman into the pool.
If Soph wanted to remember one thing for the rest of her life, it was the look of surprise on Kelly Jones' face as she fell, head first, into a swimming pool.
Of course, she had now started a war, and moments later she was tackled under the water and the pair of the spent the next half an hour trying to drown each other.
Those three weeks were quite possibly the happiest Sophie had ever been. They went snorkelling in shallow waters and found never ending amusement in a young girl who could not be stopped from announcing every fish she saw, even while wearing her snorkel. Kelly did make an attempt to get Sophie to join her in more open waters, but some things were just a little beyond her comfort zone. So she stayed back on the beach and crafted a rather excellent sand castle while Kelly went for a swim.
After Crete they moved on to Romania, spending a couple of days in Bucharest before heading up to Transylvania for a slightly touristy but delightful stay in a spooky castle. After that they returned to warm weather and spent some time on Italy's eastern coast before moving over to visit Pompeii. It was honestly spookier than the castle had been, but definitely worth a visit.
From there they jumped northward to the Netherlands, but only spent one night in Amsterdam, which was more than enough, before heading out of the busier areas to stay in a small holiday cabin they'd found. They had known that after so many days of busy places and travelling, they'd both need a little time to sit in peace and quiet, and frankly, no-where seemed better.
Their final stop was the one that really dug a hole in their funds; a trip up to the top of Finland, to, hopefully, catch sight of the Northern lights. It was ridiculously expensive, but frankly, as she and Kelly lay curled together on the simply giant, obscenely comfortable bed, beneath the thick glass ceiling of their little room in the middle of the snow, staring up at the breath-taking natural phenomenon above their heads… She found it hard to give a flying fuck.
She was a lucky bastard to have any of it, and she wasn't going to waste a second.
This chapter was just pure fluff and I am unashamed. It was also a little bit of personal wish fulfilment, given the whole lockdown situation at the moment (I happen to live in plaguetown - UK, so we got the joys of second lockdown and all that jazz), I guess I just got a little lost in thinking about all the places I would want to visit and just sent them there. Plus, I imagine being a secret agent pays well? So fuck it.
Second point... and this one is kind of important to me. I don't put up a lot of personal details in my writing because... Why would I? You're not here to read about me, but a topic has come up a lot recently around me and I'd like to just leave a message here in case it was also relevant to any of you.
I'm trans, specifically a transman who, in my youth (as many, though definitely not all, transmen do), identified as a lesbian for some time. It was, of course, during this time that I wrote a whole lot of wlw fiction and watched/read/played every piece of LGBTQ+ media I could get my hands on. In particular, as you could imagine, I was very invested in the lesbian ships within this media, because representation and teenage obsessions. Now, when I came out as trans, one friend of mine in particular told me I couldn't be into those ships any more, because I was a man, and it was gross. And that... was actually kind of devastating, and it has taken a long time for me to get over it.
I can sort of see where she was coming from, because you think of a guy being into a womanxwoman pairing and you immediately think of that type of guy who is just like "ha, lesbians are hot", but I also think it highly unfair to just drop that assumption onto every guy who is invested in a gay ship. Particularly if that man essentially grew up immersed in that media. Men can be emotionally invested in a gay ship just as much as anyone else, as well as being there for the mature rating (this fic isn't exactly SFW, we all know why we're here). Hopefully, you haven't encountered too much of this, and I hope in particular that all transmen are made to feel welcome in the fandoms that they love, because it really sucks to be made to feel like a creep for expressing interest in something you care deeply about, and it's kind of terrible that a transguy might have to out himself as trans to make it acceptable for him to like a gay ship. As if being a transman isn't quite the same as being a man, which is a grim thought.
I've kind of butchered this explanation, because I write these at midnight and I'm super tired, but I hope it all made sense. Either way, general summary, all are welcome to read my fics, regardless of identity, and I hope you all have a lovely week. I hope to see you again next time - J
