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When Kit was little, she would always play dueling knights with Airk. She dreamed of armors and rescuing princesses and fighting the big, terrifying dragon. Airk was always at her side, of course, she would never do anything without her brother, and being the distracted human being that he was, it was up to her to get them to safety after anything happened.
The day that Jade Claymore moved next door, she decided that she was going to be the knight that rescued the pretty, red-headed princess; but Jade didn’t want to be the princess, she wanted to be the knight as well. And so, it began the quest of the two knights rescuing prince Airk from the awful witch.
*
When Kit turned 17, her mom decided to throw a big party for her and Airk. Bigger than their sweet 16, and that was saying something. She picked their outfits, sent them to shower and get ready, and Sorsha specifically told her to let her hair down, no picking your hair up, you look like a man.
It was like she told her to pick her hair up. Kit was furious when she arrived to her room. The dress on top of her bed was pretty, she knew that, but her mom also knew that she didn’t like wearing dresses. The last time she wore a dress, she was seven-years-old and it was her father’s funeral.
“Kit, your mom is asking if you’re re- oh my fucking god.” As Jade opens the door, Kit jumps and lets the scissors fall. “What did you do?”
“You don’t like it?”
“Your mom is going to kill you.”
“She can deal.”
“Kit, it’s. It’s.” Jade bursts out laughing, closing the door behind her. “Oh, my god.”
“Shut up and help me fix it.”
“Yes, yes, your highness.”
Jade picks up the scissors from the floor and asks Kit to sit down in front of her mirror. She starts chopping the longer pieces of hair, tries to get them to a similar length and when she’s done, she gives Kit a look.
“You will need to go to a hairdresser tomorrow. I’m no professional.”
“I think it looks good.”
“Shut up and go take a shower.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
As expected, Sorsha lost her cool when she saw her daughter.
*
Six years later, Kit still maintains her hair on the shorter side. Every time it gets past her shoulders, she asks Jade to fix it for her; and as the years have passed, Jade has become quite skilled with scissors and Kit’s hair.
After Jade graduated college, she and Kit decided that it was easier and cheaper if they shared an apartment together. Jade had decided that she wanted to study a master’s immediately after finishing all her courses, and most of their friends were still finishing their undergrad thesis, anyway. They all lived in the same apartment building, Tir Asleen, which usually housed college students in their last semesters, so to Kit, who had had to spend her last two years of high school without Jade, it felt like getting her important-Jade-time back.
“Where’s Jade?” Graydon, one of their friends, asks as Kit arrives to their usual café.
“At home. She’s sick.”
“And you left her side?”
“She kicked me out,” Kit answers, pouting. “She said that she could take care of herself, and literally pushed me out the apartment.”
Graydon laughs and Kit punches him in the arm. After a few seconds, the bell chimes and Elora comes in. Elora Danan, Graydon’s crush since they’ve known him, currently dating Kit’s brother.
“Hey guys!” she greets them happily. “Where’s Jade?”
“She’s sick,” Graydon answers, and Elora gasps.
“And you left her side?”
“That’s what I said!”
“Oh, shut up, you two. Jade and I can survive without being next to each other all the time.”
“Are you sure about that?” Elora asks, pointedly looking at her.
“What is that supposed to mean.”
“It’s just. Kit, we’ve known each other for five years,” Graydon starts, “and I remember our Junior year of high school. You were a mess for the first few months after Jade left for college. You even cut your hair.”
“That wasn’t because of Jade.”
“No, I know. But my point is that you and her have been joined at the hip since forever. If you guys could shower together, you’d do it.”
“We wouldn’t!” Kit looks and sounds flustered as she says so, blush creeping her cheeks. “She’s just my best friend! And yes, we’ve been together since I was like, six-years old, but that is what best friends do! They spend a lot of time together.”
“Uh, well…” Elora chimes in. “Mims and I rarely talk to each other, you know? And it’s not like I don’t love her, because I do. But we have separate lives outside of each other, you know? Mims lives back home with her dad, and I came here. Like Graydon said, you couldn’t stand being away from each other.”
“So, what do you mean? Are you telling me that I love Jade in a different way than you love Mims?”
“That’s surprisingly acute of you.” Graydon comments, and Elora agrees with a hum. “Think about it, Kit. Why do you feel you have to spend every minute of your day, of your life, with Jade?”
Why? The answer is easy: because Jade is her best friend. Jade has been there for her since they were kids. She was with her, taking her hand when her dad disappeared and later on for his funeral. She was there every step of the way; she was there for her first kiss, her first crush, her first tattoo. She was there every time she fought with her mom. She has been there for all of it. And sure, that is what a best friend does, but Graydon is right, as much as she doesn’t want to admit it.
She does want to spend her life with Jade. Live with her, stay with her, sometimes she doesn’t even want to share her with their friends, or even Jade’s sister. Does that mean that she loves her differently? And if that’s the case, how so? How is it different from her love for her brother, or from the love she feels for her friends?
…
Oh.
Oh.
“I’m in love with Jade.”
“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!” Airk says from behind, startling her.
“When did you get here?”
“Like ten minutes ago. You were staring at the table and didn’t even notice Gray left.”
And he’s right. Graydon is not there anymore. Damn, she really was lost in her thoughts. But-.
“Oh my god.” Kit looks at them confused. “I’m in love with Jade! How did I not know this?”
“Eh, you’re not the most self-aware of the bunch,” Arik says, and Kit slaps the back of his head. “Ouch!?”
“I have to tell her.” Kit continues. “Oh god, do I have to tell her? I don’t want to tell her. What if it ruins everything!?”
“Kit,” Elora says, grabbing her hands. “ You won’t ruin anything. You should see the way she looks at you. We all pretend not to notice, but we do. And I’m glad you love her back.” She then drops Kit’s hands and pushes her off the seat. “Now, go! Be honest to her for once!”
“I am always honest!”
*
When Kit arrives back to the apartment, the lights are off, and the TV is on. Jade is fast asleep on the couch, mouth open and hair a mess. Kit places their cat blanket on top of her, and she hears her hum. Kit decides that she can show Jade how self-sufficient she really is by making her soup; but after half an hour she realizes that maybe she should have paid attention when Elora was cooking. She ends up going out again and coming back with soup from a diner nearby, and when she opens the door, she notices that Jade is no longer sleeping.
“Jade?”
“Bathroom!”
Kit sighs and thinks. She’s in love with Jade, how did she not know this? This makes things so much more complicated now. They live together, they eat together, they have the same friends, sometimes they sleep together on the couch, they take care of each other… Why did she think that falling in love with her best friend was a good idea? And why did no one tell her? God, she wishes she hadn’t realized she was in love with her, everything would be so much easier, she wouldn’t be in this position, where everything she thinks is I love Jade.
“You okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m okay. Eeeeeverything is okay.”
“You sure?”
“Yup! I bought you soup! Soup is good when you’re sick. Sit down and eat your soup.”
“You’re being weird.”
“No, I’m not.”
After eating, Jade is washing the dishes and talking about her plans for the next day. She’s telling Kit about the self-defense classes she has to teach at the gym in the afternoon, and Kit is just nodding along and humming along in the right places.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine,” Kit answers. She knows she’s been off the whole night, and it probably worries Jade that she’s hiding something from her. Kit doesn’t want to worry Jade. “Actually, no. I’m not fine. I have to tell you something.”
“Okay,” Jade dries her hands and gets out of the kitchen.
“I’ve been thinking, and I know sometimes I don’t really express what I’m really thinking, and I’ve also been acting off tonight because of that, I’m sorry. It’s just. I need you, you know?”
“To take care of you, I know you’re useless at that.”
“No, I mean. Yes, that too. But like. I need you for-, for everything. I want you to be here, with me. And live together and do lots of other things together. I just. I want to live my life with you, and nobody else.”
Jade gapes at her for a few seconds, reigns her composure and looks straight at her. This is the moment were Elora was wrong and Jade only sees her as her best friend, a sister.
“I have been, for a very long time, just. Hopelessly, ridiculously, desperately in love with you. And in about ten seconds I am going to kiss you. So if you wouldn’t like tha-.”
“Yes. Yes, I would be very much into that.”
“Or if you don’t want to get sick.”
“I don’t care.”
While saying all of this, Jade continues to get closer and closer to Kit’s face. It feels like time has stopped while they were talking, just waiting for them to be close enough to feel each other’s breaths in their mouths.
“If I kiss you now, I may never actually stop.”
“Only one way to find out.”
It’s-, soft. It’s so soft, tentative, sweet. Kit cups Jade’s cheeks in her hands, and Jade embraces her waist with her arms, closing the small distance between them and leaving no room for air. It feels like something in Kit’s chest has exploded and she doesn’t want it to stop, ever. Every time one kiss ends, another one starts right away and maybe Jade was right about not stopping ever again. Why weren’t they doing this earlier? Why did it take so long?
“I love you,” Kit murmurs against Jade’s lips, brushes her nose against hers. “I really do.”
Jade smiles, kisses her again and takes a step back. “why, miss Tanthalos, it seems like you have to take me out on a date now. I’m not an easy woman, you know?”
“Oh, I know.”