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Glossy black hair reflected the sun that was closer to setting than not, the rich orange light bathed the team and the townsfolk that sat at the other tables around them. Jason was leaned back in his seat outside the combination tavern-inn the team had chosen for the night, next to Sophie. Yes, it was definitely him that Belinda was looking at. Not her pretty best friend with that silver hair framing her dark face in such a cute way, perfectly complimenting the splash of white freckles across her cheeks, and her matching silver eyes clearing checking him out whenever he wasn't looking, and her hands that were equal parts strong and nimble resting on the table just a bit too close to him. Stop that. She chided herself. Sophie is allowed to do what she wants. Despite what she was telling herself, a tinge of jealousy rose in her. She was careful to keep it out of her aura. Stars had started to show on the far side of the sky and she decided to divert her attention there for a few minutes.
“Belinda?” The sound of Humphrey’s voice from the seat beside her brought her back to reality. She was a bit annoyed with him interrupting her space-out session, but she turned her head to face him.
“Hm? What’s up?”
“Are you okay? You were just staring at nothing there.” Reserved cautiousness was clear in his face as he inspected hers, seeming to look for any trace of a problem he could help with.
“Oh, yeah. Just thinking, that’s all.” The old chair creaked under her as she shifted to a more comfortable position. Humphrey glanced to where she had been staring, and looked back at her.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it? I suppose it’s easy to take something like the stars for granted. You never know when you won’t be able to see them again.” Belinda nodded and was about to reply, however before either of them could speak, Jason cut in.
“Yeah. Back home, some places have so much artificial lighting that you can’t even see them.” The statement was met with the entire team giving him looks ranging from appalled to disbelieving. As the group continued their discussion on the shortcomings of Earth, the two women glanced at each other, and then their empty glasses, and stood up simultaneously to head inside for refills. Nobody stopped them, and any questioning looks were quickly diverted upon seeing the glasses.
Belinda opened the door and motioned for Sophie to go first. She did, and soon enough the two of them had ordered and sat down at an inside table, away from the rest of the team. They made idle conversation until their drinks arrived. Belinda raised her glass to her lips, took a swig, and leaned forward towards Sophie.
"So... Jason?" She teased. Sophie glared at her over their drinks, making her laugh.
"What about him?" A barely perceptible blush crossed Sophie’s face. "He's nice, I guess." Belinda raised an eyebrow.
"He's 'nice, you guess'? You say that like you haven't been checking him out all night! Not to mention, I don't know, most of the rest of the time that we've known him?" Instead of answering, Sophie took a sip of her drink, her companion following suit.
"I don't bother you about Jory." Belinda gave her a disbelieving look. "Mostly."
"You’ve finally found someone that you only wanted to kill a little bit! It’s exciting!”
"The people we come across, most of them deserve it."
"That's fair. Most of them sucked, but damn if a few weren't nice to look at." They shared a nod. "He's different though, isn't he?"
"Yeah." Sophie paused and looked at Belinda over her drink. “I don't want to know where we would have been without him.”
“You know I'd be there with you no matter what.”
“I wouldn't want you to see me like that.” Sophie said it very matter-of-fact, but it caught Belinda directly in her chest. They had been through rough times, but it had always been as a team. The idea that Lamprey would have beaten Sophie down so far that she wouldn't even want her best friend, who had been more or less her life partner, to bear witness to it, was too much for Belinda to handle. Her hand shot out to grasp Sophie's.
“No matter what anyone does to you, I'm here. I don't care how messed up you think you are. I am always here for you. I care about you, Soph.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. Their eyes, a similar silver hue, met briefly before Sophie looked at the table just in front of her companion. She nodded and chewed at her lip before wrapping Belinda’s hand in both of her own.
“I know.” She released Belinda's hand and grabbed her glass. “The others are probably wondering what's taking us so long. Let's go.”
They walked back out to the patio, where the others greeted them with waves. Nobody asked why they had spent so long inside, and they did not tell.
The rest of the evening passed with little fanfare, and eventually everyone retired to their rooms. The place had very little vacancy, so Sophie, Belinda, and Neil shared a room, while Jason, Clive, and Humphrey took another.
When she was sure that the others were asleep, Belinda slipped outside to one of the chairs the team had spent the evening in. She sat cross-legged, though quickly abandoned that in favour of pulling one leg up to rest her chin on, with her arms wrapped around the leg. Her gaze drifted up to the moons, with the bright stars on the starry, inky darkness reminding her of Sophie. Every beautiful thing made Belinda think of her. Sweet, gorgeous Sophie, who was there through everything, who was currently falling for their rescuer. The thought brought the tears she had been suppressing to her eyes. It was strange, considering she shouldn't have been able to cry without it being on purpose, but she guessed it was subconscious, purposeful but not an active choice. A choked sobbed escaped her as she dwelled on the situation. Her best friend in the entire world, who had been with her for almost their entire lives. Sophie, finally learning that there can be good in the world, and immediately falling for the first person that didn't want something from her. Other than Jory, of course, but those two very clearly didn’t have any interest in each other like that.
She rubbed her thumb along her knuckles, imagining it was Sophie’s hand again. Before she got her full set of essences, the fighting had messed up her joints badly enough that she needed a cream from Jory’s shop to relieve the pain. Belinda would rub the cream into Sophie's knuckles while talking absently about her day. Tears streaked down her cheeks as the weight of realisation settled in her gut. She knew, on some level, that Sophie wouldn't ever think of her the same way that Belinda thought of her. Before she could think any further on that, though, the door to the patio creaked open. She whipped around to see Neil, his blond hair a mess and wrapped in a housecoat from the room. He awkwardly nodded at her and gestured to the seat next to her. She shrugged and turned back to the sky. The boards groaned under the weight of someone walking across them, unheard earlier over the sound of people and chatter.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
They sat in silence for what could have been seconds or minutes.
“So, uh. I noticed you weren't in the room, and your aura was out here and seemed pretty upset, and seeing as how I'm a healer and all… y'know.” He shrugged. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” She wiped the back of her hand across her face as Neil nodded.
“Alright. Just, let me know, I guess.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and the only indication that she had been crying at all was the slightest glint from the night sky on the tear tracks down her face.
“Well…” She shifted to bring both knees up to her chest and leaned against the arm of the chair, towards where Neil was sitting. “I mean, she just seems so infatuated with him.”
“Who?”
“You know who.” She scowled at him, though quickly realised he really didn’t know who she was talking about. “Sophie and Jason.”
“Ah. Why is that an issue, though?”
“I'm just worried, I guess. I've looked after her for so long, and she's looked after me, and if she decides she likes him better than she likes me…”
“She'll abandon you in favour of her romantic interest?”
“Yeah- wait, what? How did you-”
“I get it.” Neil pursed his lips. He had seen his fair share of friendships that had dissolved after a lover came into the picture. “People prioritise romance over friendship. I don't get it, really. I mean, sure you can be close to your lover, but I really don't see why it's more important.”
“Seriously! I've seen it happen so many times! I'll talk to someone, and I really think I've found a friend, and then they just stop talking to me because they get a boyfriend or a girlfriend or whatever and decide they want nothing to do with me!” She sniffled. “Nobody as close as Sophie, though.” Neil reached a hand towards her shoulder, ready to pull away at the first sign of discomfort that her aura may not have betrayed. Instead of that, though, he was surprised by her leaning towards him.
“I'm just so scared.” She buried her face in her knees and broke down into a fresh set of sobs as he leaned closer to wrap his arm back around to her other shoulder.
“I know. It's okay. She won't just leave you out of the blue like that. I don't think I know her too well, but she would prioritise you over any man. Trust me. Just breathe.” He breathed in deep to demonstrate. She copied him, with a few hiccups. Of course, being essence users meant that they didn’t actually have to breathe. However, that didn’t stop the action from being comforting and grounding. The moons shone down over them as they sat in comfortable silence.
Eventually, Belinda shifted in her seat and Neil moved his arm to give her space.
“These chairs aren't very comfortable, are they?” She said while standing and shaking out her limbs, which had become pins and needles. Neil laughed, copying her.
“They really aren't.” He stood as well. “Probably should get back. Not sure what's going on tomorrow. Definitely some nonsense we'll need to be rested to deal with.”
“Oh definitely.”
“Not even a question.” They looked at each other in silence for a moment before bursting into laughter; it was the kind of feeling that only happens after staying up too late with a friend and everything feels like a joke. It took a few minutes, but they gradually composed themselves enough that they could go back inside without waking the other guests of the inn. The two of them walked up the stairs and down the hall to their room, where Belinda stopped Neil. He looked at her as if to say ‘everything alright?’ and she only hesitated a moment before pulling him into a proper hug. He immediately wrapped his arms around her. Belinda was short enough that her head fit perfectly under his, and rested his chin in her curls. He smelled faintly of the same material that the building was, she assumed from the housecoat. A few moments passed before she let go and opened the door, holding it so he could enter as well. They found their ways to their respective beds and gave each other one last ‘goodnight’ before silence once again overtook the old building.