Her clothes were dirty, a button torn from her blouse, and she already sported a bruise on her left upper arm. The bruise she could hide, but everything else would be noticed.

For a moment Miranda hoped to be able to sneak up the stairs and change without her father noticing, but he was already waiting for her. She was late, too.

"What on earth have you done?" he asked coldly.

She wondered if he shouldn't at least be a little concerned, but he'd been very displeased with her ever since Saturday.

"I helped someone in a fight," she said defensively.

"You what?"

"She was attacked by three guys, should I not have done anything?"

"You could have alarmed someone, gotten help. Seriously, I expect better of you. Henry Lawson's daughter does not get into fights. Those self-defense lessons were so you could defend yourself, not join in a brawl."

"I defended someone else! But that's all I'm ever going to be, right? Henry Lawson's daughter? The little puppet you can order around, mold into whatever shape you think she ought to take? Well, that's not going to happen! I'm sick of it!"

"You ungrateful little brat! Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Don't you have everything?"

"Nothing is really mine. It's all yours to give or deny or force upon me. And I can't take it anymore."

She wasn't even angry anymore, just so tired.

"Fine, be like that. You'll see where that attitude gets you."

That tone used to make her cringe, but now she simply shrugged and made her way up the stairs.

. . . . .

"Hey there."

"Liara told you to check up on me?"

"You're sitting alone during lunch. I was afraid the universe might implode."

Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"And Liara told me to check up on you."

"Your girlfriend is very sweet. You're lucky."

Jane smiled.

"I know. So, how are you? She didn't tell me much, just that you had a fight at home."

Miranda leant back and huffed.

"I'll manage."

"What about Jack?"

Miranda's eyes narrowed.

"What about her? What does she have to do with anything?"

Jane leant forward, propped her head up on her hands and just looked at her over the table.

"You are such a busybody. It's none of your business." Miranda looked away. "She's trouble. I have enough of that already. I don't even know what her... her thing is. The shit she does, I don't understand her..."

"Maybe you should just ask her. I'm sure she'd like that."

Miranda bit her lip.

"I have her number," Jane said with a smile.

"How?"

"I took her home with me after her fight. She was bleeding, after all. She's not as much of a loner as she pretends to be."

"Why do you involve yourself in all this?"

Jane frowned.

"Maybe because you can't seem to figure things out on your own? What would you have done if we hadn't been around Saturday? Would you have hidden in that toilet for the rest of the night? Would you have come out again, pretended nothing had happened, continued your date?"

Miranda glared at her, but couldn't exactly argue with that.

"It's one thing to help me out of a... a situation," she said eventually. "It's another thing entirely to tell me what to do. I get enough of that at home."

"Fine," Jane said softly. "Tell me you don't like her, and I'll leave you alone."

It would have been such an easy lie. She opened her mouth, then shut it again.

"Just give me that number."

. . . . .

It was a strange café. 'Alternative'. Miranda felt absolutely uncomfortable. There was even a stage. God, could this place be any more clichéd? Why had she agreed to this? If she saw someone wearing a black beret, she'd start ticking off stereotypes on a list. And people gave her odd looks. Sneers. She sat down quickly at an empty table near the entrance and pretended not to notice.

"What can I get you?"

She stared at her.

"I didn't realise you worked here..."

Jack grimaced.

"I didn't want to be working anymore when you got here, but the guy who has the shift after me is late. Again. Sorry."

"No, it's alright. Uhm. Just a coffee, please."

"I'll be right back."

Miranda watched her with a small frown as she made her way behind the counter, smiled as she talked to the other waitress and started on her order. For once Jack didn't look out of place. It showed in the way she moved, the way she smiled. More carefree. She was even more beautiful than usual, being this relaxed.

"Hi there, mind if I join you?"

Jack looked daggers at the scene at the far end of the room, wishing the damn machine would hurry up. Frankie of all people had sat down next to Miranda and was trying to chat her up. Goddamn player. And why was Bastian not here yet? This was all wrong.

"Go to her, I can handle things alone for the next few minutes."

Jack turned around and gave Sue her most grateful smile, then took the cappuccino and rushed over to Miranda's table.

"There you are."

She sat down, too, and smiled dangerously.

"Look, Frankie. Miri here can handle herself without a doubt, only two days ago I saw her beat up two guys. But at the moment she's too nice to tell you to fuck off. But she really wants to, since you've sat down she's been edging away from you inch by inch. So get lost, 'kay?"

Frankie just laughed.

"I didn't know you were this territorial, Jack. Alright, I'll back off. See you around." He had the audacity to wink at Miranda and Jack flipped him off.

"Nice talking for me," Miranda grumbled.

"You were moving away from him, looking positively alarmed." Jack ran her hand over her face.

"Look, this is all wrong. I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

Miranda shook her head.

"It's alright. Just feeling like I've grown a third eye, the way people are looking at me."

"They look at you because you're beautiful. Perhaps a little out of place, but mostly beautiful."

"Jack..."

"Just listen to me for a moment. Please? About the fight..." She rubbed her forehead. "I shouldn't have let myself be baited. They kept calling me trash and I... It was very decent of you to help me. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Years of self-defense lessons."

"You were amazing. You didn't hurt anything, did you? You were gone so fast."

"A bruise on my arm. Bit of dirt on my clothes. Jane said you were bleeding?"

Jack shrugged.

"Just my lip. Heals fast."

They looked at each other for a moment, then Miranda quickly reached for the cup and took a sip.

"So, uhm, you work here?"

Miranda cursed herself for the inane question. Of course she worked here.

"Yeah, fifteen hours a week."

"Wow."

"Mostly weekends."

"I see."

"Oh, there he is! Excuse me for a moment."

Jack jumped up and made her way back behind the counter, threw her apron at the young man who'd just entered and who was gesticulating with a vaguely guilty look on his face.

"So! I'm done. You want to go for a walk when you've finished that coffee? It's on me, by the way. For saving my ass. Also, I get free coffee."

"Thanks." Miranda smiled. "Sure, let's go for a walk."

They walked through the park in silence for a while, then Jack asked lowly:

"I've heard you're not seeing that guy anymore?"

Miranda stopped dead, staring into space for a moment.

"Uhm? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just imagining all the ways I could kill Jane Shepard."

Jack laughed.

"Yeah, I do that, too! That's always fun."

"Anyway," Miranda muttered. "I wasn't really... interested. Just, uhm, doing my dad a favour. Thing. Said I'd give it a shot. It's complicated." She stared at her feet.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright. It's just that right now it's kind of... there are a few kinds of mythology where hell isn't full of fire, but ice. That's how it's like at home, at the moment."

"Because you dumped that guy?"

"No, we had a fight that was more like... about everything."

"What about your mom?"

Miranda shrugged.

"Never knew her."

She looked up at Jack.

"What about your parents?"

"No idea. I grew up in a variety of foster homes."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, it sucked. But I have my own place now. Well, I have a room in a flat I share with two others. It's a project kind of thing..."

"Now I feel really bad for complaining," Miranda muttered.

"Don't. Your dad doesn't sound easy to handle."

"Yeah... I don't know, it was alright as long as it was about grades and achievements, but I don't want him to make all my decisions for me. God, I really don't want to go home again. He has a way of making me feel so... inadequate."

Jack looked up.

"I think it's starting to rain."

"Great." Miranda sighed.

"You, uhm, wanna come home with me?" Jack asked quickly. "We can have pizza and watch TV and be inadequate together."

The smile spreading on Miranda's lips caused a flutter in Jack's stomach.

"I'd like that."

By the time they'd arrived at the apartment building, the slow drizzle had turned into a proper downpour, and they were soaked even though they'd run the last five minutes.

It was a nice place, Miranda thought, not the way she'd imagined. The colourful, mismatched furniture and bright walls plastered in posters and postcards were a nice change to the dark, stern interior she was used to. Jack watched her nervously as she looked around, and Miranda smiled at her.

"It looks great."

Jack handed her a towel and Miranda started drying her hair off.

"Do you want a shirt or something?"

"No, it's warm enough, I'll dry."

"Alright. You just sit down here for a moment," Jack pointed to a checkered couch in a corner of the kitchen, "and give me five minutes to tidy up my room."

"You don't have to..."

"You have no idea. It's alright, I'll just stuff everything into the wardrobe, anyway."

Miranda smiled and let herself fall onto the couch.

"Alright then."

She was staring at the raindrops running down the window pane, lost in thought, when a dreamy voice said:

"Hi there?"

Miranda turned and looked at a small blond girl in a purple dress, who wore a slightly dazed expression.

"Oh, hi. I'm Miranda. I'm a, uhm, friend of Jack's."

The girl's eyebrows vanished behind her bangs as her eyes grew very round.

"Really? Jack's never brought a friend before." Then she smiled. "Good for her. I'm Liz."

"Hey Liz!" Jack came back and dumped a bunch of boxes in a trash can. "You alright?"

"Yeah, really good. It's a nice day. I met your friend. She's very pretty."

Miranda blinked and Jack chuckled.

"That she is. Will you be around for dinner?"

Liz shook her head vigorously.

"I'm going to a concert tonight." She beamed.

"Have fun, and take care of yourself."

"You have fun, too!"

"You coming?" Jack said to Miranda.

"Sure."

Jack's room was still a little messy, odds and ends everywhere, but Miranda just stared at the walls.

"Did you do that?"

"Yeah. I don't usually bring anyone, so no one sees that..."

"It's amazing."

The walls were covered in red and black drawings, most of them abstract, lines and swirls, but inbetween there were faces, words, lines from poems, literary quotations, plants, animals, shadowy figures. For a few minutes, Miranda just went from one side of the room to the next, exploring.

"I'll have to repaint when I move out."

"That would be a crime!"

Miranda turned to her.

"You've such talent. Do you want to go to art school?"

Jack shrugged.

"Maybe. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good."

"Okay. Well, make yourself comfortable."

Miranda sat down on a small, threadbare couch and Jack sat down next to her. Awkwardly.

"Your roommate is... nice."

"She wasn't high, if that's what you're thinking. She's always like that. It drove me insane at first, but now I think it's cute. She doesn't have a single mean bone in her body."

Miranda looked at her, then reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair out of Jack's eyes. Kept her hand on the side of Jack's head, stroked along the slight stubble above her ear.

"You're not what I expected. Not at all."

"Oh? Is that good or bad?" Jack all but whispered.

"I don't know yet. But I want to find out. I want to..." Her hand moved to Jack's neck and Jack let herself be pulled closer. "...find out..."

Jack's lips were just as soft as they looked, brushing against Miranda's in a light touch that sent sparks through her entire body. She'd never felt like this before. Jack nipped at her lower lip and Miranda moved closer, flicked her tongue over Jack's lips in turn. They parted for her at once, and Miranda let the tip of her tongue slip between them, teased Jack's tongue, before retreating. Jack smiled against her lips and let her tongue chase after Miranda's, deepened the kiss, tongues exploring one another tenderly. They broke apart after a long, sweet moment, noses rubbing against each other briefly. Jack looked at her, and Miranda gave her a shaky smile.

"I've wanted to do this, very badly, since that day we first met in the library."

Jack raised her eyebrows.

"Did you?"

"You were so beautiful up close. It took my breath away."

"And here I thought I was the one seducing you." Jack's fingers stroked Miranda's neck, watched with a smile as she shivered ever so slightly.

"I've never been with another girl before," Miranda admitted.

"Does it bother you? Being with a girl, I mean."

Miranda averted her eyes, but smiled broadly, whispering:

"I've never been so turned on by anything. I didn't know I could feel like that."

Jack put her fingers below Miranda's chin and tilted her head up lightly, kissed her again, before saying:

"You do know how to compliment a girl."