A/N: This was done for a tumblr prompt for the amazing CampionSayn. I'm so excited to shake some rust off and write for this fandom again!
They were friends, right?
Tinya had spent so long finding out about him - showing he was more than a mutie freak worth knowing the name of. She had asked for a challenge. She had asked him to challenge her.
And challenge her he did.
Relentlessly, he sought out her company; during missions and their off-time, he was equally glued to her side. He poked and prodded her with questions - and disapproving stares when he caught her expressing less-than-acceptable views. She resented him for a long time, as she felt he was muzzling her somehow; it took a lot of work for her to internalize that those thoughts were not okay.
Nor were they true. At all. Mutants who suffered from outbursts or displayed an unstable state of mind were no more than a product of their environment and circumstances. Brin was proof of that; he had only been subjected to such horrible mood swings and violent episodes when his father (she spat the word internally) tried to mind-control him.
Tinya's heart melted at the thought that Brin had not only sought her out but that she had wanted so desperately to help him.
She squashed the thought, trying to focus on the matter at hand.
Brin had been standoffish lately. She wasn't sure what had done it, or when it had started, but for a few weeks now he'd been keeping his distance from her. And when they did spend time together, he was polite; a complete turnaround from their usual banter and teasing. He would also insist on inviting other people or doing very loud activities on the senses.
It was like he couldn't be too close to her. As if, for some unknown reason, he was afraid of spending quality time with her.
Spring. Brin hated spring so much right now. More than ever, this usually unremarkable season was pushed to the bottom of the list of his favourite seasons. With every breeze and every step he took in the grass, Brin's senses were overwhelmed with the scents of the world.
With the scent of her.
When had it started? When had their disdain - their hatred - morphed into a friendship? When had that friendship... changed?
When spring started.
His father's experiments had twisted parts of him out of the human that he had been born to be. Those parts of him were replaced with animalistic, wild, crude bits and pieces. A piece from an apex predator here, bits of this hunting beast there, etcetera... Of course, his father would have wanted him - the perfect general for his army - to spawn, if not heirs, then soldiers for him.
This included a sex drive that went haywire at the first melt. A sex drive that shot hormones of pleasure and want whenever he smelled a member of the opposite sex who wasn't claimed per se. And this sex drive had seemed to focus on one particular legionnaire these past weeks.
Tinya had been at the forefront of his mind nonstop. It was honestly so jarring that at first, it wasn't draining to be around her. Then it became so incredibly difficult; it was practically unbearable to stay within her vicinity without distractions. He was going insane trying to be a good friend.
Brian didn't even know how to act anymore, he tried being agreeable and polite because the only thing he knew was their usual interactions would make him act... Unwise.
Cooking, training, and movie night with those God-awful snacks bouncy boy brought that stank up the whole room. That was just the tip of the iceberg; everything anything loud and obnoxious, especially with other people, it did not matter what it was, Brin would decide that's what they were gonna do.
And Tinya would always oblige.
Which was how they found themselves in the kitchen, although they were suspiciously left alone. Tinya had agreed to bake with him (which was one of his favourite activities), and he had let her decide what they were baking.
His heart skipped a beat when she asked to bake honey cakes. She must've known they were his favourite dessert - he never mentioned it, or made them, since people thought they were plain - and chose those on purpose.
They were friends, right?
Tinya was measuring spices for the honey cakes when she felt Brin's eyes on her. She wasn't in uniform for once, sporting a relaxed outfit of yellows and whites. Quite out of her usual colour palette, but she had been taken up by spring and wanted to be a little seasonal.
Brin was also out of uniform, wearing a thin fleece, with the sleeves rolled up as he was hands deep in flour and supplies. Despite this, his eyes were focused on her.
"I'm double measuring," she said in a teasing voice.
He looked away sheepishly, focusing on his part of the recipe. "I didn't say anything," he whined.
She giggled and started humming as she measured and mixed the spices and wet ingredients.
Brian's breath hitched and his senses kicked into overdrive. The way she stood, smiling lazily, bathed in golden sunlight; the rays lighting up her hair, giving her a halo…
Surreal, he thought.
They kept baking in semi-comfortable silence. Brin was on edge but did his best to act normal. Tinya was having fun.
Finally came the time to mix the dry and the wet ingredients. Brin walked around the island and started pouring some of the dry mixture into Tinya's wet bowl. She sidled up to him as she mixed the two parts with a wooden spoon; he felt the heat of her body on him, felt her press against him.
She could feel him pressing against her.
They were friends, right?
Brin looked up in despair; he felt like a pervert and a creep. But as soon as he had lifted his head, Tinya had turned to press a swift kiss on the lips. Or close to; she pecked the corner of his mouth, before turning back to the mixture.
"Thank you for helping with the mixing," she said in a casual tone, but a smile was planted firmly on her lips.
They were… maybe more than friends.