Bubble Tea

The old Ondalinian folk song did its job, and Astrid finally left the room, to fulfill her original goal of occupying herself, because she couldn't sleep. She swam down the hall, dimly lit by lava globes, to the kitchens. The kitchens were clean and the view was spectacular. Well, the best view one can get on the Kargjord, anyway. Astrid jumped and smiled at whom else was in the kitchens. Desiderio was making bubble tea, his shoulders bent, his head slung downward to watch his own work, make sure he was doing it correctly. The oven's heat was radiating, and the tea bags melted into a froth that he poured into a coffee mug, that was chipped in several places. Astrid was hiding behind a wooden beam near the entrance, watching him. His hair, a rich auburn-brown, was sticking up in one spot in the back, he hadn't combed it or gelled it yet, so his curls were still wilder than they usually were, and Astrid longed to run her hand through his hair, to be with him, even if nothing happened. Just to be next to him, and more than anything, she wanted to be able to touch him, kiss him, and love him, without feeling like she had to hide it. She didn't of course, but she was hopelessly afraid of revealing her feelings for anyone. Terrified, even.

At that moment he looked up from his tea into a pair of blue eyes.

"Are you hiding from me, Kolfinnsdottir?"

"Maybe," she smirked, "What are you doing up this early?"

"Making tea."

"Besides that."

"Looking at you, which is considerably more enjoyable than making tea, and I'll have you know that I simply adore the process of the creation of tea."

He beckoned for her to come closer.

"What are you doing up so early, Kolfinnsdottir?"

"Just talking with you, and..." She then decided it was best to not tell anyone about what Becca had shared, in case they didn't already know.

On an impulse, she put a pale hand on his cheek, which he brought to his mouth to kiss, as she blushed furiously. She drew in a small breath, and hoped silently that he hadn't heard. But he had, and in response, without sense or reason, purely for desire, kissed her, hard, placing his coffee mug wildly on the countertop, bubble tea sloshing out from the force. His hand was shaking when it reached up to hold Astrid in his arms, and slowly he picked her up, his lips trailing down her throat, and placed her neatly on the counter top, and buried his head in her neck.

"Astrid," He said the warmth of his breath coming to touch her neck in the form of a low moan of longing.

So she kissed him back, because in his emerald eyes, she could see her reflection, love, scribbled on her face, pale in the light filtering through the surface of the water. She kissed him back because she loved him. It felt wrong, almost, after all these years of having the resolve not to love or trust, to find herself full of emotion that struck her like the lightning bolts that hit the tip of the Citadel when it pierced through the waves, and into the cold Arctic night. When the kiss broke, she looked at him, dizzy, a little, as he brought her carefully off the edge of the counter, and looked deep into her eyes. He shuddered against her, with excitement, perhaps, or the nerves they both felt that were rooted at the fact that neither of them knew how one another felt about the other, and repeated her name. It sounded like music when he said it. Astrid. Astrid. Astrid.

He leaned in again, taking control over the kiss. Astrid stopped to take a gasping breath, and said, "I'm afraid of falling."

He smiled against her lips. "I'll catch you."

Astrid laughed a giddy laugh and tossed her head back, throwing her hair in a halo-like fan around her face, the pallor of it gleaming in the morning light. They both stared at each other, looking dazed, chests heaving against the weight of constant desire that showed in barely glimpses of moments, stolen from the world.

At that moment, a small face, tan from the sun's effortless light peered through the doorway, and quickly dashed behind the wooden beam that Astrid had just been leaning against, recoiling through bouts of laughter. She came out again, this time catching Astrid's eyes of ice, as a small sand shark swam obtrusively into the doorway.

"Abby! Move! I wanna watch!" she whispered to the shark. "Abby, hush, they're kissing."

At the sound of another voice in the room, the two sprang apart from one another, cheeks red and flustered, hearts pounding.

"Coco," Astrid said, "What are you doing up so early?"

"Oh, nothing," Coco smirked at her pet shark, "Just fetching a cup of water for Serafina."

"You're... going to Serafina now?"

Coco was filling a small glass, and when she was finished, she eyed the bubble tea spilled on the counter, stepping between them, looking at each of them suspiciously.

"Coco?" Echoed a voice from the bedroom quarters, and Astrid and Desiderio looked at each other instantly. "Are you alright? I'm coming?"

Serafina appeared in the doorway. "Come on Co, I'm sorry. I know the kitchen freaks you out."

"I swear, it's haunted. Sorry I took so long, I was watch.."

Astrid mouthed No! To her silently, and then pretended to pick up the tea cup Desiderio had slammed onto the counter.

"No, Astrid, let me pick it up," whispered Des, snatching the cup she was holding from her hands; he leaned closer to her ear and said, "We are apparently quiet entertaining."

Astrid smothered a giggle into her sleeve, blushing at the fact that she had only just realized she was still only wearing her pajamas under her jacket.

Coco looked at Astrid, and then at Serafina, and said, "I-the ice machine wasn't working, it's fine now; I figured it out."

Serafina frowned. "Are you sure? Did anything else happen? Astrid, Desiderio?" They turned around to look at her instantly, their effort to avoid suspicion becoming suspicious, "Make less noise when you 'make tea', please thank you. We're all trying to sleep, right, Coco?"

"No, no, I'll bring the water, go back to sleep."

The slightly embarrassed trio of Coco, Astrid, and an unusually shy Des, watched as Serafina retreated back to her bedroom, and Astrid relaxed, not realizing until now that she had been tense.

The younger girl looked smugly at the two of them.

"Don't worry," she said, "I won't tell. Your secret's safe with me."

She winked and left the room, her cup in her hand, Abelard trailing behind her tail.

"Our secret isn't safe, is it?"

"Nope. Probably not," he laughed, "Now do you actually want some bubble tea?"

So, Astrid sat down to talk with him, not minding that the tea was cold, as the residents woke up to the sound of their laughter.