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As the sun slowly inches downward below the horizon, all kinds of hues swim along with her in the sky. The wind dances as if taking a stroll, taking its sweet time to gradually pass through the now barely populated arena.
Etho is sitting by herself on an otherwise empty bench, fingers playing with the bow attached to her dress. The silk is soft under her hands, even through the thin gloves, and she feels the warmth of so many people slowly leave the spot she's in. She sighs, eyes somewhere far, far away, and so are her thoughts — god, was this really all she's gonna get for now?
What brings her out of this trance are two strong, gloved hands on her shoulders. When Etho looks up, she's met with the widest, fondest smile she can recognize as special, something reserved just for her. Bdubs stares at her with wide open eyes, and when he realizes he caught Etho's attention, sits down next to her — the fabric of their skirts overlapping, bodies close and warm.
"Hi," he says, and Etho is suddenly very interested in whatever is going on in the other direction.
"Hey, BdoubleO," she mutters through her mask, knowing her voice is still audible. She doesn't understand why she's so embarrassed (maybe it's the fact she' isn't presenting herself like she usually does), after spending hours competing together, years knowing each other. (But maybe that detail is unimportant now, and the only thing that isn't is Bdubs' fingers finding hers somewhere between their bodies.)
"I'm sorry we couldn't place higher, Etho."
"Shush," she turns to him and smiles, even if not visible. "I don't care about that. I'm glad we were teammates and had a great time."
"Yeah," Bdubs sighs, hand fiddling with Etho's. "It was fun."
And Etho doesn't know what to say after that — and she feels kind of stupid too: sitting on a bench while they could both be doing something way more important, still in the damned costume of some anime girl, unsure if she should even speak about what she wants to.
"You know," she says after a long beat of silence, "you make a really pretty girl, Bdubs."
(And she means it with all her heart, because god, Bdubs looks beautiful in that dress even if it's a little silly and she's a bit jealous.)
A small gasp comes from Bdubs as he turns to Etho. "You really think so?"
(And maybe there is more to that question than Etho originally assumed.)
"Yeah," she nods. "I really do. You are beautiful."
"Um," and the way his eyes soften while looking at Etho tells her everything: yeah, we are the same. "That means a lot to me, actually. I was really embarrassed at first."
"You shouldn't have been, 'dubs," she says and takes her hand away from hers for a second. Etho takes her gloves off, and does the same to Bdubs' so she can hold her hand skin to skin, like they never do, as a gesture of trust, of honesty, of her appreciation.
(And the wind whispers to them both: I get you. I understand. I am just like you, you are just like me.)
"The pink might be a little too bright, though."
Bdubs laughs at her answer. "Yeah, I think green suits me more."
"Mhm, yeah, you and your obsession with moss…" Etho fiddles with her fingers like before, but it feels way more intimate this time. She blinks up at Bdubs, mesmerized by the other's gaze for a moment, unable to crack another joke.
"Hey!" Bdubs replies, offended but painfully soft, wide smile on her face as she takes Etho in again and again. "You are really pretty, too, by the way."
Etho laughs, the sound a bit bittersweet, and hides her face by ducking her head down.
"Mm, but I have way more experience being a pretty girl than you, you know. It's unfair how easily this beauty came to you."
"Maybe. Doesn't make ya' any less beautiful to me, though!" Bdubs nudges her with her shoulder, softly forcing Etho to look at her again. She smiles, that same soft smile she's shown Etho thousands of times during their friendship, the one she keeps locked away until they are alone.
"Hey, Bdubs," Etho starts again, voice shy like she's afraid of the answer. "Do you know what pretty girls do together?"
"I have a guess, I'll tell ya that, and I'm really hoping you will say the same thing I'm thinkin' about," she says, her wide-open eyes burning holes into Etho's reddening cheeks with the intensity of her stare.
"Is your guess kissing?"
"Oh, yes," she nods, maybe a little too excited, too desperate for a first taste. That doesn't turn Etho away, though, not even in the slightest.
And when Etho takes her mask off, just below her chin, the pink fabric being gone feels incriminating in a way — and the world seems to stop spinning. Or maybe Bdubs is just dizzy with a sudden desire rising from deep within her core, and there's nothing she's ever seen that could be prettier than Etho in this moment. And maybe she is right, and Etho feels the exact same way about her, and they just stare at each other for a long moment, dumbfounded and happy. It is all silly, but maybe it isn't at all, and when Etho finally closes that small space between their faces, the world really does stop spinning.
Her lips are soft against Bdubs' and her smile is obvious even as they're kissing — and it is a bit ridiculous to be so giddy about this, but they can't help themselves. Etho mutters a small 'shut up!' before kissing her again, and again and again, and at no point does either of them think to do anything else, to maybe take this elsewhere.
When it isn't enough anymore, when the touch is too little, too small, Bdubs gathers all the bravery in her body and uses her free hand to roam from Etho's shoulder, to her neck, through her soft white hair — and she tugs it a bit, just a tiny bit, hard enough for Etho to gasp against her mouth so she can deeper their kiss. And deepen the kiss she does: her desperation pouring out into every second she spends learning the curves of Etho's mouth. Bdubs, at one point, must seem like she's trying to consume her, but that is just as far from the truth as it is the truth — there's nothing more she would want more in life than to know Etho inside and out, more than she already does.
In response to her neediness, Etho lets her hand roam too: from one small patch of exposed skin to another, slender fingers leaving an untraceable line of goosebumps on Bdubs' skin. When Etho's hand finally finds its place on her jaw, holding it in place, she just holds it, caressing from time to time before yanking closer and closer, as hard as she can in that moment, until there isn't even a single atom of air between them.
They part with a small sound, a line of saliva connecting their kiss-swollen lips. Etho opens her eyes carefully, like a deer, shy and sweet, and Bdubs looks at her with so much adoration that they both feel like they might combust from within. She smiles and licks her lips, the movement precisely followed by Bdubs' gaze, very, very focused. Etho, suddenly embarrassed again, doesn't know if she should wink at her or maybe do something equally as risky, or just— so she does nothing and waits.
"Do you have more pretty girl lessons like this?" Bdubs asks, voice quiet, and Etho can feel her speak against her lips.
"Mm…," she pretends to be in deep thought. "Depends on how much you want to learn."
"Ah, but you know me so well, Etho." Bdubs bumps their foreheads together, stray strands of their bangs catching on each other.
"I love to learn new things… I'm a great student. The best!"
"Shouldn't your teacher decide that?" Etho asks, her voice going low, low enough to send a shiver down Bdubs' spine top to bottom, low enough to make Etho internally cringe at how hot and aroused she feels at this point (and at the possibility of there being more, preferably of kissing).
(She thinks now might be a good time to wink that wink she's been thinking about, but truly, that is just silly.)
"Then, maybe, my teacher should teach me."
The teasing glint in her eyes makes Etho take a deep breath; her hold on Bdubs' jaw tightens. She has to fight the urge to moan out loud — they are in public! Indecent.
"Maybe she will when you are a good girl, Bdubs."
And without another word, Etho kisses her again, her grip still tight on her, fingers digging into her skin. She kisses deep and hungry and relentless, and Bdubs realizes she couldn't give a single fuck about where they are if Etho wants her like this, takes her like this, and she gives and gives and gives herself away until the sun comes back up again, until she can't feel an inch of her body, until neither of know where they start and end.
Being a pretty girl is awesome.