Eivor was met with a joyous chaos of colours and noises as she turned the street. The parade was already in full swing: people danced in floats and waved rainbow flags, all to an infectious beat coming out of the car leading the line. Girls held hands with other girls, boys dipped other boys while kissing. Participants everywhere wore their colours proudly; a grinning Eivor gracefully accepted a tiny pink, yellow and blue pin from a pretty boy with purple hair, putting it over her heart. Then she set out to find her pack, those lovable idiots she'd grown to cherish and call her own.
Birna was the easiest to spot; she was sitting on the shoulders of a burly and moustachioed leather daddy, shouting raucously as she swung a truly enormous Lesbian Pride Flag. In fact, the whole of her outfit featured orange and pinkish hues, and her cheeks were painted the same colours. Next to them were the rest of Eivor's friends: Soma, Valka and Randvi. The latter's face brightened as she spotted Eivor, waving at her. Dammit. Seeing that smile, Eivor felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Recalling how her conversation with Sigurd had ended did not help. Eivor swallowed deeply, and she jammed her hands into her pockets, feigning nonchalance as she made her way toward her friends.
Birna jumped to the ground, coming to meet her. "You're late!" she said, grabbing Eivor into a headlock. As the latter grumbled and ineffectively tried to pry herself free, Birna added, "Where have you been, Wolf-Kissed?"
Valka pointedly glanced at Randvi. Eivor felt her stomach twist; she hadn't told her she would meet with Sigurd before coming here. She opened her mouth, fumbling for words.
"We had some errands," Valka cut her off, saving Eivor's arse, as always. "Eivor told me she'd catch up with us later on—and here she is."
"Is your cousin coming to join us too?" asked Soma. "Ceolbert?"
Eivor shook her head. "Lad's not a fan of crowds. And he still isn't sure if he wants to come." Poor boy was drowned in worries these days; he was starting uni this semester, in a prestigious engineering program. Eivor knew he was going to ace all of his classes, as he had always done, but humble Bertie had always been an anxious sort, striving for perfection in everything he undertook.
"Why wouldn't he?" said Birna. "We're a welcoming lot, we are!"
"He's still figuring himself out, give him time," said Eivor. At these words, Soma nodded sagely. Not that long ago, she had been the one in that position. This was the first Pride in which she'd agreed to join the rest of the girls. Eivor was glad her friend had finally found herself; she had gone through a long and difficult road to self-discovery.
After a while, Valka said, "We should get going, shouldn't we? We're blocking the way."
"We should," Randvi conceded. She seemed curious, and from the look in her eyes, she would surely ask for details about Eivor's 'errand' later on. Eivor stifled a sigh; she could not put off that conversation forever, could she? Again she remembered Sigurd's smile. I'm not surprised, really, he had told her. Why don't you tell her how you feel? It wouldn't be my place to judge, after all.
Stupid git. Eivor would almost have preferred it if he'd gotten angry at her confession rather than give his blessing.
"Come on, then!" said Birna. "Let's go, ladies!"
They blended among the crowd, and Eivor's uneasiness soon melted away, replaced by infectious joy. There were old friends and new faces alike around her, a glorious variety of people bearing all the colours of the rainbow. Wide-eyed twinks rubbed shoulders with wise old biker butches. A posse of drag queens scuttled by, towering over everyone with their high heels and flashy headdresses. By the pavement, passersby waved and took pictures; Eivor even posed and flexed for a pair of giggling girls. Randvi rolled her eyes in a good-natured manner when Eivor turned to her, grinning and bouncing her brows.
As the afternoon went by, they encountered familiar faces. Eivor's ex, flame-haired Ciara, greeted her with a hug—and a lascivious look (which was a welcome boost to the ego, Eivor had to admit). She also sent a smile Birna's way. As Eivor quirked a brow at her, Birna coughed, explaining, "Ah, well… we broke up a few weeks back. It was nice. Really, really nice. But she wasn't… we weren't…"
Eivor patted her on the back. "I get it. You weren't on the same page relationship-wise."
"Yeah, I'm not saying she wasn't a great lay, she was, but…" Birna was smiling, but there was a wistfulness to her eyes. She shot a subtle glance to Soma. For many years she had carried a torch for her oldest friend—but sadly, it wasn't meant to be. On one cheek, Soma bore the colours of asexual pride; on the other were the green, grey and black of the aromantic flag. Birna might have been crass, and she might have acted as if she was driven by nothing but baser instincts, but in truth Eivor knew that she longed for love, true love. Eivor wrapped one arm around her friend's shoulders, giving her a squeeze. She hoped Birna would find it one day; girl deserved it after all the heartbreak she had suffered.
Not long after, Eivor spied a pair walking shoulder-to-shoulder, sharing a pride flag they wore like a cape. She grinned, breaking into a run to clap the fairer-haired man on the back. Erke wheezed, before turning to face her.
"Eivor!" he exclaimed, as she crushed him into a hug. Eivor then turned to his partner, doing the same. Stowe chuckled, awkwardly patting her on the back.
"I'd thought I'd see the two of you today!" Eivor said. "Damn, but it's been far too long. How have you two been?"
Erke grinned, showing his left hand. A silver band gleamed around his ring finger. By then, the rest of the group had caught up with them. Birna, being a romantic at heart, grinned and whooped at the sight. Valka offered her warm congratulations, while Randvi asked about the details of the upcoming ceremony. Eivor sadly wondered if she was thinking of her own engagement, broken after Sigurd's, ah, 'indiscretions'. If so, then Randvi did not show it; she smiled from ear to ear, wholly happy for their friends.
Erke and Stowe joined them for the rest of the day. Once the parade was over, they all headed to their favourite pub for a well-deserved pint. When they were all served, Birna enthusiastically called for a toast.
"To all of my favourite bitches!" she said, before adding, for Erke and Stowe's benefit, "That includes you two idiots as well, mind."
"To friendship," said Soma, raising her drink.
"To love!" Birna exclaimed, making Erke cheer—and Stowe hide his face with one hand. The man did not enjoy having people's attention upon him.
"Here, here," said Valka.
"To love and friendship," Eivor agreed. Randvi was looking at her from the side. Eivor sipped her Guinness, feeling her cheeks heating up.
Time in good company was time well-spent. Still, while her friends were drunkenly exchanging barbs (sadly, Eivor herself had to remain sober to drive Valka home), Eivor absentmindedly checked her phone. Hunwald seemed to be streaming something on his Twitch channel. "Tonight I'll be playing Baldur's Gate 3!" he announced, to the great excitement of his comment section. Eivor watched him for a while, eventually writing, "That buff devil lady seems promising." At her words, Hunwald brightened up on screen, saying, "Oh yes, Karlach is definitely best girl!" His watchers went wild in the chat channel, expressing their admiration of 'Mama K' over and over again.
Eivor snorted, switching to Instagram. Oswald had uploaded something to his page, it seemed; he and Valdis were smiling and standing cheek-to-cheek, with a beautiful, verdant scenery stretching behind them. "Top of Mount Snowdonia together!" said the caption beneath the picture. On Valdis's account, there was another photo, of a happy Oswald posing beside a red wagon. "He really loved taking the train to the top," wrote Valdis. Eivor could imagine all too well the fond amusement her friend had felt at the sight.
The evening was well-spent (and Eivor's friends were well on their way to becoming totally wasted) when Valka announced, "I should be going. My mother needs me."
Eivor nodded. She'd had only one drink, knowing that she would have to play designated driver. Birna and Erke tried to get them to stay. "The party's just started!" said the latter, while Birna exclaimed, "Aw, c'mon, we've got an engagement to celebrate!"
Those were excellent arguments, but Eivor knew Svala must have been anxiously waiting for her daughter. Valka was probably also quite worried about her mother. Eivor was surprised, however, when Randvi stood as well.
"I should go too," she said. "I have to wake up early for work tomorrow."
Tonight Randvi had told them at length of her new job; she was the assistant of a LGBT-friendly candidate who wished to win local elections. Eivor felt almost self-conscious. She had started to work for two old family friends, Hjorr and Ljufvina, who owned a construction company specialised in the restoration of historical buildings. Still, it wasn't the most well-paid gig. Randvi, for her part, was very much on her way to become Someone with a capital S. Evidently, they would make a rather odd pair—if Randvi was still interested, that is, Eivor thought with a pang.
"Aw, really?" said Birna, slumping over the table. "Man, you're all so boring and respectable now. Even Eivor. You used to be wild, Wolf-Kissed."
"Seems like I've been tamed at long last," Eivor answered, with a sidelong glance to Randvi. She was glad to hear a chuckle from the latter.
"Would you be so kind as to give me a lift home as well?" Randvi asked, twirling a strand of red hair around her finger. Ah, hell. She was being all coy and playful. Lady was truly a fine strategist at heart.
"Of course I will," Eivor muttered, cheeks flushing. "Anything for you, Red."
Eivor drove Randvi to her flat after getting Valka home. The ride was unusually silent; neither of them knew what to say, it seemed. Sigurd's words kept playing on loop in Eivor's mind, which was not helping her predicament.
"I knew you liked her," Sigurd had said, shaking his head. "Hell, I think I've always suspected, even when we were together. You've never been the subtle sort, after all."
"You're… you're not mad?" Eivor had replied.
Sigurd had sighed. He'd looked old and weary as he had added, "I should be, shouldn't I? Really, I should be mad as hell that you meant to steal my girl. But… I didn't treat her right. I didn't treat you right. Why should any of you listen to what I have to say?"
"We care about you, Sigurd." As he had lifted one brow, Eivor had muttered, "Well, I care."
In the end, her brother had laughed. "I'm not surprised, really. Why don't you tell her how you feel? It wouldn't be my place to judge, after all."
Eivor's heart hammered in her chest at the memory. Sigurd didn't care if she got with Randvi. Hell, he was happy for her—for them. He'd grown so much in that time Eivor had been a stubborn arse who kept refusing to speak to him—and she had changed too, for the better. She wasn't the angry child who needed him to be led out of the darkness anymore; she had so many others around her, dear friends who had taught her so much. She performed with her band on the regular, and the Raven Feeders were becoming a household name in the underground punk community. She still played Dungeons and Dragons every Monday, joking and laughing alongside her sweet nerdy boys. And she could now easily outrun both Basim and Hytham whenever they practised their parkour skills, finding freedom in the thrill of the race.
Yes, Eivor was no longer that lonely little girl who had met—and escaped—Death on that cold winter night. After all these years, she had finally found peace—among her pack, her people.
Eivor stopped the car in front of Randvi's tenement building. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. God, her hands were sweaty. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. How pathetic was she, unable to flirt with a pretty girl? Birna would have laughed at that sorry sight.
Finally, Randvi murmured, "Would you… would you like to come up for a cup of coffee?" To Eivor's surprise, she sounded nervous. Had her cheeks darkened in a blush? No, that couldn't be right.
"'Kay," Eivor blurted out, heart thumping in her ears.
They walked in silence to Randvi's door. Again, Eivor was shocked to see her friend fumbling to find her keys. She remained quiet as she followed Randvi inside her flat. It was small, with sparse furniture. Still, Eivor recognised Randvi's homely touch in every corner. Pictures and paintings hung on the walls; Eivor knew all too well who were the happy red-headed people smiling at her from every photograph. The portraits and landscapes brightening the flat also bore a familiar signature; Thora, Randvi's sister, had painted them all.
"She's good," Eivor commented, as she examined one of them more closely. It depicted a snowy fjord hidden in mist. Eivor's heart twinged with homesickness at the sight.
Randvi laughed. "She's got all the artistic talent in the family. Meanwhile, I couldn't draw a straight line even if I wanted to."
For a moment, she busied herself in the kitchen. Eivor watched her, still tongue-tied. Seeing Randvi in this domestic setting, hair unbound and cascading over her shoulders, it made Eivor think about, well, certain things. She pictured waking every day to a lovely face and a lovelier smile. Would their mornings smell of coffee and fresh toast? How sweet it would be, to steal some quick kisses before rushing off to work? Eivor's cheeks coloured again. Such mundane sights she'd just imagined… but oh God, how she longed for these moments. How she wished to share them with Randvi—to share this ordinary life of hers with someone she loved.
"Randvi," Eivor croaked, finally finding her voice, "Sigurd told me that…"
Randvi hovered in the doorway, coffee mugs in hands. Her mouth tightened slightly. "Sigurd told you what?"
Eivor waited until Randvi had put down the mugs on the table. "He said you had already broken up with him when he slept with that girl. Is that… is that true?"
Randvi sighed and sat down. Circled the top of her mug with one finger. "It is."
"Then… then why did you—"
An ugly laugh escaped Randvi's mouth. "I was hurt. I was sad. And I was angry. It felt good, to be petty, to let everyone think I was the injured party in that whole mess. I didn't care that it made Sigurd look bad." She looked at Eivor, eyes filled with weariness. "I'm not perfect, Eivor. I messed up—and Sigurd paid the price for my mistake."
"No, he didn't—" Eivor began, hoarsely.
"Eivor, listen. I know you want to put me on a pedestal. I won't say I'm not flattered that you think so highly of me. But I spent six years of my life with someone who didn't know my true self, warts and all. I don't want that again. I need to know if you're willing to accept the bad along with the good. If you're willing to accept that we'll have some downs along with our ups. Because love is not the smooth and perfect thing that all the stories have made it out to be. I need to be sure, Eivor."
Of course, Eivor wanted to blurt out, but she kept her mouth shut. That was her infatuation speaking; that was her stupid horny self, which was shouting at her to drag the perfect woman sitting before her back to bed to make her scream. But that was not what Randvi wanted—at least, not all of it. Randvi wanted the smell of coffee in the morning and kisses before work as well. She wanted love—beautiful and ugly and perfect love.
Finally, Eivor nodded, throat tight with emotion. "That's what I want, too. I want you. All of you, warts and all." She coughed awkwardly. "That's, er, meant as a figure of speech, by the way. I don't think you really have—"
Randvi laughed. Oh, how Eivor loved that sound. If she could hear it the rest of her life, then she knew she'd die with a smile upon her face. She would have lived a life worth living.
"Oh, you," Randvi said as she stood up. She touched Eivor's cheek in a light caress that made the blood in Eivor's veins sing. "You always act so cheeky, but in truth you're so easy to fluster. It's really, really cute."
Eivor cupped her face as well. Randvi's skin was smooth; was it that silky soft everywhere, Eivor wondered? She longed to find out.
"I'm gonna make a confession," Eivor said, pitching her voice lower. Randvi's eyes widened slightly, and she gasped. Success, Eivor thought, stifling a smirk. "You're the only one who ever flustered me, Red. You're that good."
Randvi's eyes gleamed playfully. "You could stay the night, if you want. I could show you what other things I'm good at."
In response, Eivor brought their faces closer. Their kiss was soft, almost chaste. It still sent sparks across her skin. The two grinned as they separated. Without missing a beat, Randvi launched herself at Eivor again, this time for a deeper, hungrier kiss. Eivor brought their bodies close, prompting a delightful little sound on Randvi's part. She lifted her off the ground, making her twirl. Randvi laughed again as Eivor covered her neck in kisses.
Needless to say, the coffee remained on the table, cold and undrunk, for the remainder of the night.
