Dancing in the Flames - pt 2 (Mia PoV) (Patreon)

I'm honestly very excited to dive into this series more as time goes on - ultimately, I have plans to traverse through all of Down to A Science from Mia's point of view, and then go beyond it, as well.

----------Dancing in the Flames----------

Part 2

Generally speaking, Mia didn’t enjoy going antiquing with other people. Or, for that matter, going on drives longer than twenty or thirty minutes with most other people.

For being an undeniable extrovert, there was something about sharing that length of time, enclosed in a car with someone else with nothing to really do, that made her feel a little… edgy. She’d held most friends at a distance since her teenage years. She wasn’t in contact with any of the people she’d considered her friends back in California, but – in fairness to them – almost all of her social circle beyond work had consisted of Kristin’s friends.

 And she hadn’t had many long-term romantic partners. Only the one. With Kristin, it had taken her months to get comfortable enough to simply exist with her.

She couldn’t say it shocked her, though, that she didn’t feel that way about Ellie.

Mia knew very early on that she’d made the right decision in continuing her friendship with Ellie, despite the egg being entirely on her face about the whole non-date thing.

The best thing was, Ellie seemed to have no idea that Mia had made such a hugely incorrect assumption about the beginning of their friendship. So, it all worked out perfectly.

So many parts of Mia’s life were… transient.

That had really been put into stark clarity for her since her move. Not surprising; Mia was well aware of her own issues and hangups, thanks very much. But the Kristin of it all had really thrown her off.

Even the person she’d thought she was building something with, putting roots down with, didn’t see Mia as something permanent.

A tough pill to swallow, but far from the worst card she’d been dealt in her life.

After a month of hanging out with Ellie at the bar, she shocked herself by wanting to hang out with her beyond that.

Maybe that was something she liked about her. Maybe she enjoyed that Ellie never pushed, and always had Mia coming to her, like a nervous animal.

And – definitely – she liked more than anything that it didn’t seem like Ellie was socially aware that was what she was doing, so Mia didn’t have to feel weird about her own hangups.

So, her first step had been surprising Ellie at her lab at MIT – something that really had been unplanned, given that they’d been responding to a call nearby.

And her second step was this –

Ellie blinked those insanely mesmerizing eyes at her, that were constantly changing from shades of brown and gray and green, as she asked, “You want me to go… exploring with you?”

She didn’t sound derisive, but genuinely confused at the invitation.

Mia felt that slight instinct to clam up, but easily pushed beyond it.

This was Ellie, they’d now known one another for a couple of months, and things were good. She was comfortable with her, more than she was with literally anyone else presently in her life.

She leaned her hip against the pool table, arching Ellie a look. “Why are you sound like I’m asking you to defy the laws of physics?”

“I just don’t know what you mean by exploring,” Ellie stated, simply. “Where do you want to go?”

She shrugged back, as she answered honestly, “Everywhere. Anywhere.” Again, she hesitated before sharing what felt personal, but she elaborated, “When I move somewhere, I like to explore all around. I’ve been in Boston now for a few months, and I have a good handle on the city, and close-ish surrounding areas. But one of the things that sounded really appealing about coming here is how close everything is in New England. You know? I’ve lived in Texas and California, which leaves a lot of land mass to explore, but you can drive for an entire day and still be in the same state. We could drive for twelve hours and hit every state in New England. I like that.”

It was the exact opposite of the vastness of the places she’d lived before, and that had been very appealing to her when the idea of living here had been put on the table.

Ellie did the thing Mia had come to deeply enjoy, in which she took in Mia’s words and seemed to mull them over in her mind, like she was dissecting every aspect of what she’d said, before forming a response.

There was something about that kind of thoughtfulness that made Mia feel… appreciated? Respected? Both of those, and more.

“So, I’m ready to start really venturing out, beyond a thirty-minute radius of the city. And I’m inviting you, if you’d like to join me.” She ticked her lips into a smile, cajoling, “I could use the expertise of someone that has actually grown up in the area.”

“Well, I didn’t grow up in this area,” Ellie immediately corrected.

“I meant New England,” she explained, laughing softly.

“Geographically similar, I suppose, but Green Ridge is very different than around here.”

“Okay, nerd, do you want to come with?”

“Um. Yes. Sure.”

And Mia found herself looking forward to it.

***

When she pulled up in front of the building Ellie lived in, she didn’t even have time to shoot her a text before Ellie pushed the door to the entrance open and walked toward the parking spot she’d nabbed at the curb.

“That was quick,” she noted, glancing back up at Ellie’s building.

It was the first time she’d seen the place, and she’d, admittedly, been somewhat hoping to be able to go inside. Not desperately enough to ask – never her MO – but Ellie was such an interesting person to her. She was undeniably curious about where she lived, how it looked. She knew Ellie lived with a sister named Riley, and Ellie had haltingly told her that Riley was “very different” than she was, but that she was her best friend.

She couldn’t help but wonder what it looked like with two “very different” sister personalities – including Ellie’s very intense, fastidious one – would look like, put together.

Mia, especially, had always had an interest in siblings, as a concept. She had none, and she wasn’t sure if she’d have preferred to have one or not.

If she’d had a sibling, there was a chance she wouldn’t have been so alone after her parents had died. Then again, maybe she still would be, and she’d had their death on her shoulders, too. Or maybe they’d resent her.

Anyway. It was interesting to her.

Ellie’s honey blonde curls had been tossed around by the blustery winter wind in the quick walk to Mia’s car, she couldn’t help but stare at the way Ellie thoughtlessly reached up and tousled them back. Then simply let them bounce into a different position, out of her face. There was so much volume to it, and Mia – she really liked Ellie’s hair.

Shaking her head, she blew out a breath as she rolled her eyes at herself. She wanted as Ellie pulled the seatbelt on, before flicking her blinker to re-enter traffic.

“After we exchanged addresses a few days ago, I noted that you live a twelve-minute drive away from me. If we factor in the mild traffic because of the game today, I’d figured you’d arrive in about twenty, twenty-five minutes. So, I was ready.”

Mia hummed in acknowledgment, grinning softly. “Makes sense.” She glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. “Twenty-four minutes, too. Right on the nose.”

“Thin-slicing information like that is kind of my specialty.”

“One of many.”

Immodestly – which was good, because Mia didn’t want Ellie to be fake-modest with her – Ellie shrugged. She looked around as they started driving, and Mia wasn’t sure what she was looking for, until she asked, “Are we not using a GPS? You said you hadn’t really left this area, before.”

Mia slowly arched her a look out of the corner of her eye, as she stated, “We’re exploring.”

Ellie turned to stare at her, obviously baffled. “And exploring means… not knowing where we’re going?”

“Kind of?”

Ellie’s eyebrows furrowed, deeply, and her disdain for the idea was crystal clear, even before she slightly frowned and let out a quiet, “Hmm.”

Utterly amused, Mia figured that – yeah. Based on everything she knew about Ellie so far, she really should have figured this in as a part of her personality. “Would it make you feel better if we had a destination in mind for this road trip?”

“Yes,” Ellie answered without hesitation.

And, yeah, Mia really liked that about her. She didn’t lie to Mia when it was clear they’d obviously had a different idea about what this day would entail.

“But,” Ellie allowed, after she’d taken in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds. “This is your expedition, and I should have asked about it before agreeing to accompany you. It’s – fine.”

Mia took a turn, heading in the direction of the highway. “If it makes you feel better, you can plan a route. I don’t mind.”

Ellie hesitated, glancing at her as she bit her lip. “Are you sure? I don’t have to. I – I mean, you know I don’t really have many other friends,” she admitted with a slight wince. “And I don’t go on “adventures” or anything like that, with Riley or Gianna. I suppose it’s only natural for us to learn about our… conflicting styles… given that this is our first time hanging out away from our typical locales.”

Without taking her eyes from the road, Mia reached down to hand Ellie her phone from where she’d had it sitting in the center console.

“Please, plan to your heart’s desire. No, I don’t normally plan a route when I take an exploration road trip, but I also don’t care if you do. It’s a very easy compromise to make.”

Within a few minutes, as Mia was heading north away from the city, Ellie had planned a route up the coast, explaining as she set Mia’s phone in the holder on the dash –

“We’re going up the Coastal Byway. I figured if you wanted to be able to really take in more sights, we shouldn’t take the highway for most of the drive. This will take us through smaller towns on the water, through Essex county.”

She side-eyed her, as she teased, “I thought you weren’t from the area?”

Ellie’s lips pulled into a thoughtful frown. “I’m not. But before I moved here, I did a lot of reading.”

“Of course.” Not that she’d actually been looking for an explanation, but of course. She might have only known Ellie Beckett for a limited time so far, but it was the most in-character thing she could imagine.

“I don’t have to–”

Before Ellie could even finish that offer to cut herself off from spouting out whatever facts she had in her repertoire, Mia shook her head.

“No. Keep going. Seriously.” She reached out, landing her hand on Ellie’s soft, warm thigh, squeezing to reaffirm her words.

The thing was, Mia deeply loved when Ellie nerded out.

Like. A lot.

Which made it all the funnier when she excitedly pulled off the road to stop at one of the many antique shops they’d started passing along the drive, and Ellie turned to look at her, like she was the nerd.

“What is with that face?” She asked, nudging Ellie’s hip with hers as she locked the car.

Ellie took a beat, before she nudged back. “I just – what are we doing here? What are you looking for, exactly?”

Mia shrugged, glancing between Ellie and the shop as they approached the entrance. “Just… looking.”

Ellie tilted her head, staring so intently at Mia – with that single-minded focus she had – it made her stomach clench.

If there was one thing she’d learned about Ellie Beckett in the last couple of months, it was that no one had ever looked at her so closely. Mia wasn’t sure anyone in the world looked at anyone else so closely.

“I didn’t imagine you as someone that liked antiques.”

“The dualities of man,” she glibly offered.

“So, kind of piece are we looking for? Style? Era? It might help us narrow… things… down,” Ellie spoke slowly, as they stepped inside, and she roamed wide eyes over the shop that seemed stuffed to the gills with the mish-mash of furniture.

Laughing, she answered, “Again, just anything.” Sensing that Ellie would probably prefer to be given a direction, she provided, “I still need a coffee table and a dining table, and – ideally – matching chairs, but I can make do without a perfect set.”

Sometimes, she liked finding individual but complementary items.

Ellie snapped her gaze back to Mia, incredulous. “You’ve lived in your apartment for months.”

“Yes…?” She trailed off, arching a knowing stare at her.

Yes, Mia understood that – for most people – settling into their new place meant fully furnishing it as soon as they could. But… “I like things that I can’t get online, mass-produced somewhere. I like something that comes with a story.”

Mia didn’t need the years of therapy she’d had to understand her own penchant for why she liked to antique.

She had nothing – literally nothing – from her childhood. Nothing from the apartment she’d called home for her entire life until she’d been a teenager had been salvageable.

Not her mom’s vintage jewelry box that Mia had been obsessed with when she’d been a child, that her mom had always allowed her to – gently – play with, telling her that “one day, this will belong to you.”

Not her dad’s cherry wood desk that had a scratch on the side from Mia rough housing in the living room. He’d taken it in stride, because he hadn’t been one to be precious about things like furniture, but he had loved to sit at that desk and read his sci-fi books.

All of the furniture from her history, from her parents, was gone. No antique would ever have that story – her story – but… it had someone’s story. And Mia liked the idea of preserving that.

A part of her, wildly and uncharacteristically, wanted to say as much to Ellie. Wanted to see the way that incredible mind of hers would consider what she said, giving it thoughtful importance. But the words lodged in her throat.

Instead, she turned the focus away from herself. “What kind of furniture do you like?” 

Because, try as she might, Mia couldn’t quite nail down what she imagined Ellie’s style to be.

When it came to fashion, Ellie didn’t seem overly invested in what she wore. A lot of jeans and soft-looking sweaters seemed to make up her autumn and winter wardrobe, which was how long they’d been hanging out. Casual, comfortable. Cute, but certainly not trying to keep up with trends.

Mia would actually bet her life that Ellie wouldn’t be able to tell her what trends were popular right now.

And, as she thought about it, she also really liked that.

Ellie – she did her own thing. She followed her own passions, and she didn’t feel the need to performatively partake in something she didn’t care about.

As she stared, admiringly, at Ellie, Ellie was looking around at the pieces surrounding them once more, as she shrugged deeply.

“I don’t know? I like things that are functional. It’s a table – I want it to be level and have a relatively comfortable chair accompanying it. Other than that…” She trailed off, eyebrows furrowing. “I, actually, really dislike being confronted with all of these choices; it’s overwhelming to me. I guess I’m just fortunate that Riley – and Gianna – made the decisions to furnish our apartment.”

So damn fascinating.

“Ideally, I’d like for my furniture to be ethically sourced and made,” Ellie finished, looking back at Mia. “As much as something can be ethically sourced and made, at this point of the late-stage capitalism we exist in.”

“I guess what you’re really saying is that getting an antique – something that’s been used before – is very ethical, then,” she shot back, winningly.

Ellie’s eyes slid to hers, holding, as she thought her comment through. Then, she nodded, looking around the store with slightly more interest. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Then again, we’d really have to know when each piece was made and where in the country – or the world – it came from, so we could figure out what kind of labor went into it.”

And there it was – Ellie re-taking her nerd throne.

“Come on, Beckett. Let’s look for attractive, yet ethical, furniture.”

***

“Hanging out with your best friend this weekend?” Mat asked, sidling up to her as they left the station at the end of their shift.

She snorted, using her elbow to rib at him. “If you’re referring to yourself as my best friend–”

He snorted right back. “Why would I do such a thing, when it’s clearly your curly-haired blonde babe?” He paused, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Or are you finally going to admit to me that you’re more than friends?”

She rolled her eyes at him, because they’d had this conversation. Multiple times.

“If you’re referring to Ellie, then – yes, I’ll be hanging out with her this weekend.”

“Knew it. And, uh, obviously I’m referring to her? Do you have another, secret, best friend that you’ve been squirreling away?”

Mia slid on her sunglasses to ward off the bright, glinting early-summer sun. “Not really my style, Flores.”

“Damn, you’re cool,” he jokingly gushed. “Well, if you do have any open timeslots to hang and want to grab a drink or whatever, let me know. I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve seen one another.”

Despite just slipping her shades on, she lifted them up just enough to nail him with a dubious stare. “We literally see one another every week. For several days at a time.”

“I mean out of work. Obviously.”

She slid her sunglasses back onto the bridge of her nose, her lips tugging into a frown.

The thing was, being in her line of work was great if she got along with her colleagues. And she liked Mat more than she liked any of her coworkers. Which was why they did spend so much time together when they were on-shift. They worked out together, sometimes cooked together, sometimes he’d walk along with her as she did her engine checks. Mia knew just about everything about Mat Flores, given how much he enjoyed chatting.

She got to be his friend – and the other members of the crew – and spend quality time together, while also not having to make it super, uncomfortably, personal.

“I’ll let you know,” she answered, before she tugged out her keys. “See you later.”

The thing was, Mia was so glad she and Ellie weren’t more than friends. She’d never been happier to be wrong about something in her life. She was so fucking glad that things had turned out the way they’d turned out, because… because she’d never had this, with anyone.

This kind of calm, quiet closeness that was totally comfortable, no matter what they were doing together. And she enjoyed everything they ended up doing together, because they really did jive in a way Mia had never experienced before.

It was deeper, really, than whatever would have played out between them, if they’d walked into romantic territory. She could just feel it, in her bones.

For all of their differences – and there were many, from their demeanors, to the way they approached the world – they were more similar than not.

Ellie loved to share with her. Information, stories, her hobbies. And Mia loved to try new things. Conversely, Ellie was willing to do the things she liked – like antiquing – and give then a genuine try. And she didn’t make Mia feel badly about the way she liked to do it. Taking her time, asking questions. The only person she’d gone antiquing with in the past had been Kristin. Who not only didn’t enjoy the aesthetic like she did, but also was all about efficiency in a way that took the joy from browsing for the perfect piece.

They had the same taste in movies – and more than that, they both enjoyed analyzing them to death in the same way that Kristin had always been so irritated by.

They had the same taste in food, in drinks, in enjoying spending their free time playing pool or darts.

And none of it had been bogged down by wondering what Ellie was thinking of her. Wondering what the right pace was for them to move at. Wondering when she’d have to disclose her life story, because, eventually, if they were in a relationship, that was a can of worms she’d have to open.

Instead, they got to slow build into what they had, now. Into their evenings at The Witching Hour or at Mia’s place watching movies, or going on day trips to explore the area. And there was no pressure, no expectation.

It was just – good.

In making a ridiculously embarrassing fumble, Mia had somehow managed into finding the best thing that could have possibly happened to her.

***

Maybe that was why it was so confounding – and, admittedly, a little hurtful – when she finally met Riley.

She’d spent literal months spending time with Ellie. She’d heard so many stories about her sister – the ever-mysterious Riley Beckett – and not once had Ellie mentioned she was an identical twin.

Mia sat on the couch during game night, surrounded by people she liked via secondhand stories already. And all she could focus on was… why Ellie seemed to have deliberately kept this from her?

In so many ways, Ellie was so open.

It was in that refreshing, vibrant look on her face when she talked about her life; Mia had never once doubted Ellie was being anything but honest with her, about everything.

Not that Ellie owed Mia her life story – Mia, more than anyone she’d ever known, understood keeping personal information to yourself. But… but Ellie talked about Riley so much? And it just didn’t make sense?

“I’m really so glad you were able to make it tonight,” Riley said to her from across the table, stealing Mia’s attention from where she’d focused it across the room, at the doorway into the kitchen that Ellie had disappeared into a minute ago.

She blinked back at her, taken aback for the millionth time this evening at the twin factor of it all.

Ellie was incredibly attractive. Objectively. Factually.

And there were two of them.

Two of those sets of glinting, intelligent hazel eyes. Two identical sets of full, plush lips. Two of everything.

It was obvious upon sight their differences.

Riley, unlike Ellie, clearly favored fashion, wearing a touch of very subtle makeup, along with straightening her hair and styling it. There was also a social awareness Mia could see on her face, hear in her words, like she was studying Mia. Measuring her.

She twitched her lips into a smile. “I’m glad, too. I really appreciate you having me over.”

“We’ve been wondering about you for months, now, so it’s about time,” Gianna stated, leaning in against Riley’s shoulder with obvious long-term familiarity.

And – yeah, Mia wasn’t even going to touch the fact that Ellie hadn’t told her that “Riley’s best friend, Gianna” was actually Gianna, the model influencer.

Walking into this apartment with them made Mia feel like she’d walked into a world of beautiful, blonde amazons. Granted, Ellie and Riley weren’t as tall as Gianna was, but they were a hell of a lot closer to her height than Mia’s 5’1.

What an evening to be a lesbian.

And all she could think about, all she could focus on, was why Ellie didn’t tell her?

Sure, Mia didn’t tell Ellie about her parents, but Mia also didn’t mention her parents at all; Ellie lived with Riley.

Were they not actually as close as Mia had let herself buy into for months? Was this why Ellie hadn’t invited her over before tonight?

It gnawed at her, and she glanced at the doorway again. “I’m just going to see if Beckett–” She cut herself off as the nickname rolled from her lips, glancing at Riley. The other Beckett. “Uh, Ellie, needs anything.”

“Mhmm,” Gianna hummed at her, a little smile on her lips.

Mia didn’t love that, or the glint in her blue eyes.

But, she ignored it easily and focused on the matter at hand. And she paused as she entered into the kitchen, her gaze landing on Ellie.

Who was standing at the counter, her head bowed slightly, her shoulders tense, and her eyes squeezed closed.

Confused and concerned, she whispered, “You okay?”

Ellie’s eyes opened quickly, and she spun to look at her, eyebrows rising high on her forehead. “Um. Yeah. I’m good.”

Okay, so that was the least believable thing ever.

But, Mia wouldn’t pry into that. No, she’d stay focused on the most pressing thing – “You never told me you and Riley were twins.”

Ellie looked down at the floor, focusing far too intently down at their feet. “No?”

Mia’s stomach twisted, sympathy clawing through her because obviously Ellie was uncomfortable about something, and her reaction was also wildly adorable. Jesus.

She hummed, softly, keeping her voice low and comforting, “An associate producer at NBC, best friend of Gianna, club-goer, BU Alum, lover of ice cream, overall great cook, amongst other things,” she listed off just a few of the things Ellie had shared with her about Riley over the months. “But… not twin.”

Which, really, seemed like one of the first things someone would normally say about their identical twin.

Ellie kept her gaze focused on that spot on the ground, as she fidgeted, seemingly unsure of what to do with her hands, before she jammed them into her pockets. “Oh. Yeah. Well, she is. We are.”

Oh, Ellie.

Mia felt herself go so soft inside, at her obvious discomfort.

And she didn’t want to be the cause of it; she just wanted to understand.

She ducked her head, catching Ellie’s gaze, “Hey,” she spoke, softly, searching those hazel eyes with her own, a small smile on her lips. Wanting – needing – to reassure Ellie that she wasn’t mad. “Why didn’t you mention it? It kind of feels like… you know, one of the big fun facts you’d mention. That there are two of you who look the way you look is kind of an accomplishment in and of itself.”

She paused after the compliment slipped out, wondering what Ellie might take from it.

She’d intended to lighten the mood, but she was also painfully sincere.

If anything, though, Ellie seemed to draw up even tighter into herself. “Yeah,” she sighed out, gruffly. “She straightens her hair, though.”

Ellie reached her own hand up and gestured at her glorious hair, self-deprecatingly.

Mia’s gaze lingered. “I saw that,” she acknowledged, and bit back the truth of how much she loved Ellie’s hair. She loved that Ellie didn’t change it. She loved the way the loose curls hung at her shoulders, making Mia’s fingers itch to touch it.

Shaking her head slightly, she focused on the important thing, which was not her admiration of Ellie’s looks.

It was about the things she was learning tonight that Ellie had kept from her.

“I didn’t realize you had a graduation ceremony? You never told me? I would have come if you had?”

Something Riley had mentioned so casually, as if she’d expected to meet Mia there. But she knew for a fact Ellie hadn’t told her. Because there weren’t many – any, actually – people Mia would want to show up for, but Ellie had become that person.

So… it didn’t make sense to her.

Unless – her stomach cramped at the realization, and she took in a sharp breath. “Ah. Oh. I mean, it’s also fine if you didn’t want me th–”

“No!” Ellie jumped in, shaking her head quickly. “No, that’s not it,” she assured, so vehemently, Mia had no choice but to believe her. “I met up with you, afterwards, at the pub, and it was – you didn’t realize it, but we had a celebration ourselves.”

Mia nodded, taking that in.

So, apparently, Ellie wasn’t the open book she’d figured her to be. Apparently, she was very capable of sectioning off pieces of information and herself. Which was, again, absolutely fine. But… why? If she’d invite other people she cared about to things like her graduation, if she’d enjoyed hanging out with Mia later that night, why not invite her, too? Why –

“I didn’t mention the ceremony or that we were twins, because it is a fun that that people always ask more about. And then, inevitably, they ask about Riley. And when people learn everything about Riley, they want to meet Riley, because who wouldn’t?”

There was a desperation in her voice, a rawness, that gripped at Mia.

Something she’d yet to hear from Ellie, and her own internal response was overwhelmingly sympathetic. She wanted, deeply, to reach out to her, to brush back some of her soft hair, to offer some comfort.

Especially when Ellie blinked her eyes open, and they were so wide and sad. So, clearly, down on herself. “She’s friendlier than I am, she’s more outgoing than I am, she’s more exciting than I am, she’s sweeter than I am, she’s more normal than I am,” Ellie listed off these comments the same way she told Mia about her work.

Like she was stating facts, and that the facts read: Riley is better than Ellie.

Her heart ached, as the understanding swept through her.

“No one ever things Riley is too intimidating to approach or thinks she gives fuck off vibes,” Ellie finished, her voice low and hoarse.

It made sense, now.

Ellie hadn’t kept this information from Mia because she hadn’t wanted to let Mia in – she’d done it because she was scared. Scared Mia might reaffirm these beliefs that Ellie seemed to hold as truths.

As the seconds ticked by, and Mia let them both settle into those words – because this wasn’t a small thing. It clearly wasn’t small to Ellie; clearly, it meant a hell of a lot to her, actually – she took in how genuinely conflicted Ellie looked, on top of everything else.

Because Ellie loved Riley.

They were sisters – twins – who also chose to live together, and were also close friends. And it was obvious just from Mia’s limited interactions tonight with Riley that she loved Ellie just as much.

Which made Ellie’s confession hit Mia even harder.

“That’s tough,” she found herself murmuring, unable to stop herself from reaching out and taking Ellie’s hand in her own. There was a sense of calm she’d come to find in this simple touch from Ellie. “Loving your sister so much, but also…”

She trailed off, not wanting to put words in Ellie’s mouth, but needing her to know that Mia understood her.

“It’s fine now. I got over it. I just… haven’t had someone that was, um, mine, in a long time.”

Mine.

She was referring to Mia.

Mia was hers.

The word, the possession in it, burned through her, making her heart stumble and skip a beat, and her hand tightened on Ellie’s in response.

But it didn’t make her panic, in the way it would have from someone she was dating.

It felt so… right.

Ellie’s.

She was Ellie’s person.

And Ellie was hers.

She blew out a long, deep breath. “Look. Riley’s awesome; it would be a total lie to say she wasn’t, and I know you wouldn’t like it if I thought otherwise.” Because Ellie’s loyalty to Riley – to the people that were hers – was unquestionable. “But, I like your don’t approach me vibes,” she confessed.

Ellie scoffed, the color rising in her cheeks. “Mhmm,” she sighed, dismissively.

“I do!” Mia insisted, because it was so fucking clear in her mind’s eye, that first time she’d seen Ellie at the pub. “Honestly, I thought about asking you what the hell you were doing when you were writing in your notebook at the pub so much before I actually did it.”

Something she’d never said in so many words, in their months of friendship.

But she’d always noticed. She’d always noticed.

“But you gave off this air that you did not give a shit about who was around you, and that you wanted everyone to fuck off, and I respect the hell out of that.”

In fact, she found it attractive as fuck. It had made Ellie so… mesmerizing to her. Frankly, it still did. Whenever she walked into The Witching Hour and laid eyes on Ellie, sitting at their corner of the bar, laser-focused on whatever she was working on, as though the rest of the patrons didn’t exist, as if everything else in the world didn’t matter one single bit?

It was damningly, wildly attractive.

Even more attractive as Ellie smiled at her, the grin slow and deliberate. “I’m glad you decided I didn’t actually have that vibe.”

“Oh, you do. You sure do,” her words were marred by the laughter bubbling up out of her throat, because really? Ellie thought Mia had approached her because she’d decided Ellie didn’t seem like she never wanted to be bothered by anyone?

The entire reason she’d decided she had to know Ellie better was because of how livid she’d been when those frat guys had been disturbing the peace.

And now, here they were. Months later. Two people that didn’t ever really open up to others, didn’t form many close friendships, who were… kindred spirits? Mia didn’t know how to describe this feeling she’d formed with Ellie without sounding corny as hell, but maybe at the base of it all, they were corny. She felt understood by Ellie, on a deep level. And she felt like maybe she understood Ellie on that fundamental level, too.

They didn’t have to share everything – Ellie never talked about her personal life; Mia, at this point, wondered if Ellie ever thought about or was interested in sex or romance. Mia didn’t discuss the nitty-gritty about her past, either – but… they didn’t have to, to exist on the same plane the way they did.

She squeezed Ellie’s hand again, feeling her long, delicate fingers laced through Mia’s smaller hand, but fitting so well there, and it felt so right in a way very few things ever felt right in Mia’s life.

Ellie felt that way.

“I just like it even more now that you include me and make it a don’t fuck with us vibe.”

Because… they were an us, now.

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spoiler prevention

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