Archive of Our Own ^beta

BEDROOM TALK

By EVA_beatrice

© March 2023.

TAPPING THE RIM OF HER TEA CUP with the tip of her spoon, Elizabeth Mably lets out a long but quiet yawn.

It’s almost two in the morning as well as a school day, and normally at this time she would be getting beauty sleep in her bed under her large, fluffy covers.

This early morning, however, she is sitting at her desk, all because of a certain person. “Are you still angry that I’m leaving early? It’s only two hours earlier than the usual time I exit your room.”

Speak of the devil, Elizabeth thinks as she turns around to face the tall, dark-skinned girl sitting on her bed, the white-haired female wearing a black sports bra and her lower body covered with a blue towel.

Cleo Brand.

Turning back to her desk with a pout, Elizabeth replies bitterly, “Usually, as well, you don’t decide to tell me you’re going to train in the middle of passionate engagement with each other, after two weeks of already keeping little contact with me in order to ‘get yourself ready for the so important upcoming boxing competition in Hamburg’.”

“On the fact that it was at the last minute, you are right, and I apologize”—Elizabeth hears the sound of one of her drawers being opened—“but to be fair, there’s been a few times where you were going to leave for London and didn’t tell me until an hour or two before your flight.”

Elizabeth takes a sip of her tea, briefly cherishing the warm and sweet taste of honey and vanilla on her tongue. When she places her cup down on its plate, she lightly flips the left side of her hair, crossing her left leg over her right.

“That’s different.”

“How exactly?”

“It’s different because I said so,” the blonde childishly answers before pouting.

In response, Cleo comments, “I’m surprised to hear you acting like this. I’d expect it from someone like Ganessa Roland…is it an England thing?”

Elizabeth doesn’t give another answer, instead pouting more loudly and going back to tapping the rim of her tea cup.

Cleo is right, as much as Elizabeth doesn’t want to admit it—there’s a reason why she’s nicknamed the Academy Reigning Enforcer. She’s supposed to be settling disputes, not being in the middle of one and making it escalate further. Furthermore, she doesn’t like it when Cleo and her get into arguments.

It’s just...they’re in their third year, and with the recent attack on West Genetics as well as their different methods as Pandoras, they will likely spend their fourth year in different platoons and then afterward different parts of the world to defend society from Nova.

By the time Elizabeth inherits her family business, will Cleo have already moved on?

“Oh!”

Elizabeth is taken out of her thoughts by strong arms being wrapped tightly around the top of her stomach, the smell of mint entering her nostrils as a mouth comes in contact with her cheek and kisses it.

“I know what you’re thinking, Elizabeth. Frankly, I also think about how our future education in Genetics can possibly put us on separate paths. Have no fear, however—my heart will always belong to yours, no matter how far apart in the world our missions put us.”

Cleo cups Elizbaeth’s chin and turns her around, kissing her on the lips.

When she separates from the blonde, Brand informs her, “Besides…once our world is free of Nova and everyone can go back to a normal life, the first thing I’ll do is drive or fly to wherever you are, to start a new journey of either just me and you or you in charge of Mably Corporation with me right by your side.”

Elizabeth looks down and blushes, playing with the ribbon of her kimono.

“When you put it that way,” Elizabeth says with a small smile, “then waiting for you to return from Europe is not so bad anymore.”

Cleo walks away and presumably goes back to Elizabeth’s bed to finish getting ready. Elizabeth meanwhile fixes the right strap of her lingerie brasserie, which had fallen down due to how hard she had been hugged moments before.

Drinking another sip of her tea, Malby turns around with the cup in hand to once more face her girlfriend. Brand is fully clothed in her exercise gear now, and the Afro-German is standing expectantly by the footboard of the bed for the blonde’s next words.

“Later today, would you like to come with me to eat lunch downtown?”

“This afternoon? As amazing as it would be, sadly André and I have a small assignment with the first-year Kazuya to finish,” Elizabeth tells the other third-year before consuming more of her tea.

Cleo frowns at the blonde’s last words. “You seem to collaborate a lot with Satellizer L. Bridget—or more specifically Kazuya Aoi—as of late.”

Elizabeth raises her eyebrow at Cleo’s sudden change in demure. “My, my…it seems that I’m not the only person acting more like a second-year in these early hours of the morning. Is that jealousy I’m detecting, dear? Surely you don’t actually believe I’d leave you for a first-year boy.”

Cleo looks like she’s going to defend herself, but instead, she just turns her eyes to the bedroom door, swinging her gym bag on her shoulders and returning to the serious manner she’s known for.

“I’ll see you during lessons, Elizabeth.”

Nodding to the British female, Cleo opens the door. 

“Until later, dear,” Elizabeth responds happily to her departing lover, before giving a knowing smirk.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that out of all people, Elizabeth thinks to herself as she turns around in her seat, Kazuya Aoi would be the one to make Cleo envious. Perhaps I shall keep this in mind for a later time…

Quietly, Elizabeth drinks the rest of her tea.

[FIN.]

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