Chapter Text
Friday, 0900 hours
Command Centre – Operation Fiasco
A knock came from the heavy door of the Command Centre. The occupants of the room, intelligence analysists for the Marine Corps mostly, look towards the sound as a young Major, Varinsdottir embroidered across the pocket on her chest and insignia aglow on her shoulders, makes her way into the room. The Brigadier General, turns to take in the young officer in front of him.
“Sir” Eivor salutes, standing at attention.
“Major Varinsdottir, thank you for coming. At ease”
Eivor’s hand snaps down from its position at her forehead and clasps behind her back as her feet move to shoulder width apart. If anything, the position wasn’t “at ease” at all but I guess it was more comfortable than standing at attention the entire time.
“We have a situation, Major. You have recently come back from deployment, is that correct?
“Yes, sir”
“And is it correct that your platoon recently ran an operation into hostile territory resulting in the deaths of a number of insurgents?”
“Yes, sir”
“Unfortunately Major, it seems that one of those insurgents was a civilian and diplomatic relations are tense, to say the least”
Eivor’s face dropped in horror as she realized the implications of what the General was saying.
“Sir?”
“Varinsdottir, this is not your fault. The intel you were given said that only enemy personal was in the area. What I need from you is a play-by-play description of what you saw on that mission. Ms…”
The General looked beside him to where a well-dressed redheaded woman was standing, an intimidating figure in her tailored high-waisted beige pants with a white button up shirt tucked in, her hair braided to the side of her head, falling in a clean plait over her shoulder.
The women looked at the General with a piercing gaze through a set of designer glasses, only a flicker of hesitation visible for a second.
“Randvi is fine General.”
“Right, well, Randvi is here to oversee the diplomatic relations between our posts Varinsdottir. You will give her everything that she needs, understood?”
“Yes, sir”
Randvi let out an internal sigh of relief that the General had not pushed the issue of her last name. She wasn’t even sure what her last name was now. Styrbjornson was just too… him. God knew that she didn’t want to be associated with that name anymore, but her maiden name seemed so distant.
Something to ponder later
“...is that suitable?”
Randvi jumped a little, mortified as she realised that a question had been directed at her.
“I’m sorry General, I’m still a little jet-lagged, what was that?”
“The map room is available for you to use with Major Varinsdottir. That way she can pinpoint crucial areas of the mission. Is that suitable?”
“Yes, very much so, thank you”
Randvi put on her best corporate face, she wouldn’t let these people see her personal life falling apart. She picked up her bag, straightened her glasses (she was still get used to them – God-damn aging) and moved towards the map room. Major Varinsdottir followed her.
The Major stopped suddenly before entering the room:
“Sir, may I speak freely?”
“Granted”
“None of my men are going to be implicated in this, are they? If any fault befalls my platoon, I wish to receive it.”
“Understood, Varinsdottir. Dismissed”
Eivor snapped to attention and saluted her CO. Turning and walking into the room, she closed the door quietly behind her.
Randvi took in this young woman – perhaps she wasn’t that young. Being a Major, she must have had her time in the services, or she was very good at her job. From what she had just witnessed, perhaps it was the latter - any leader willing to take the fall for their subordinates in such a high-risk job was a good leader in her books.
“Thank you for meeting with me Major, I will try and make this as brief as possible”
Randvi looked over to the woman who stood at ease but avoided eye contact, waiting for an instruction from Randvi.
“You’re welcome, Ma’am. I will do all that I can to help”
“No need to call me Ma’am, Major, I am not in your chain of command. Randvi is fine”
“With all due respect, Ma’am, I’d prefer to keep this as straightforward as possible.” Eivor remained with her eyes trained forward and her face impassive.
“Very well then, please have a seat” Randvi sat down, feeling a headache start to begin at the base of her skull. Today was going to be a long day. The young Major sat down alongside Randvi, both facing a map of the enemy territory that they were here to discuss.
“I am to record this conversation Major for both my own personal records and your Chain of Command, do you have any objections?” Randvi asked as she withdrew the recording device from her handbag. She pulled a notepad and pen out as well, her mind shifting into work mode.
“No, Ma’am.”
Randvi was still bristling at the Ma’am. Jesus, she wasn’t an old lady… she wasn’t even married anymore?! Anyway
“May we start with your rank, name and platoon”
“Major Eivor Varinsdottir, Raven platoon”
"Eivor" Randvi thought, "what an unusual name. I like it."
“Thank you Major, please describe to me the happenings of October 3rd, 2021”
And so Eivor began retelling the story of her platoon entering enemy territory in early October of last year. Randvi noticed that the Major’s demeanor became slightly more emotional as she came to the crux of the events of that night. Perhaps the idea of harming civilian people had thoroughly shaken her. Her description of what occurred was so detailed that Randvi had trouble keeping up with her notepad. This woman was definitely thorough.
Randvi studied her a moment:
She is quite beautiful – in a rugged way. That scar up her face, I wonder how she got that – it must have hurt. Such a strong jaw structure and those lips… Fucking hell Randvi, keep it together!
Randvi gave a slight shake of her head, getting the attention of the young Major beside her, the heat rising quickly up her neck towards her face.
“Are you okay, Ma’am?” Eivor asked with a concerned tilt of her head.
Shit, shit, shit
Randvi covered up her embarrassment by picking up her notepad and scribbling furiously. She’s not entirely sure what she wrote but she would erase it later.
“Yes, quite. Thank you Major” she gave a tight smile as she regained some of her composure:
“That seems to be all in order. Are you willing to come back in if anything needs further clarification, Major?"
“Of course, Ma’am” Eivor dipped her head and stood up, “thank you for all that you are doing.”
Randvi looked up at the blonde, for the first-time making eye contact with the young woman. Something akin to a whole-body shiver went through to her bones as she held her gaze, her eyes an icy blue that she just wanted to reach out and touch.
The Major seemed unwilling to move in that moment as well, her hands wringing together in front of her. The side of her blond hair was shaved with a tattoo running around her ear. The rest of her hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head.
What would happen if I kissed you right now?
Randvi broke the stare that seemed to have gone on forever, clearing her throat and chastising herself at such a foolish thought running through her head.
Where the hell had that come from?! You’re at work, damn it! This is important.
Randvi looking at her notepad, gave a short “thank you Major” in dismissal and watched the woman walk out.
The redhead dropped her notepad on the table and let out a heavy sigh. What on earth had gotten into her? Yes, her divorce had been finalised only the week before but let’s be real here, her marriage to Sigurd had been over months, if not, years ago.
“Maybe I just need to get laid” Randvi thought as a certain blonde Major flashed through her brain. She rolled her eyes at herself.
Friday 1600 hours
Command Centre – Operation Fiasco
Randvi was finishing up her notes to send back to her boss on Monday. The scratch of her pen on paper was all that she could hear in the dark room. Taking off her glasses and pinching between her eyes, she reached into her bag to get some ibuprofen, a headache taking up inhabitance in her brain.
Standing up and stretching, she started putting away her belongings. Her laptop had stayed abandoned in her bag for the day, far preferring to write out her notes by hand; call her old school but she felt that they were far more thorough when presented that way. Placing her glasses into their case with a snap, Randvi felt that that was an excellent metaphor for wrapping up the week. Time to go and relax. Between flying in at God knows what hour yesterday from overseas and coming back to sort out her apartment, Randvi was exhausted.
Picking up her bag and bidding farewell to the officer standing guard at the door of the Command Centre, Randvi stepped out in the cool air of the afternoon. Making her way to her car, she reflected on the day and the young Major she had met.
A good woman, I think.
Friday 1800 hours
Randvi’s apartment
Randvi unlocked the door to her apartment, having sat in traffic for an hour and a half to make it home. She’d forgotten how horrendous Friday afternoon traffic was in the city.
Her headache had receded to a dull kind of pressure and all she could think of was a shower. Slipping off her heels and feeling the cold press of the tiles underneath her feet, Randvi sighed in relief as her feet slowly unfolded back to their usual shape – man she hated heels.
Opening the fridge, Randvi was reminded that a) she had not been in this apartment for a few months and b) of course she wasn’t going to have any food. Opening the cupboard above her fridge however Randvi did find a treat that she had kept for a rainy day.
“Ah-ha!” she exclaimed as she reached up on tippy toes to pull down the bottle of red. Unscrewing the lid, Randvi poured herself a glass and took a sip. The redhead always found a satisfying warmth associated with red wine. It did make her drunk very quickly though. Only one glass..
She moved upstairs to run herself a bath – shedding the corporate clothes that felt like both chains and armour at the same time, she looked at herself in in the mirror. Randvi felt like she was still doing pretty well for her age, her boobs hadn’t started to sag too much yet, her stomach was still relatively flat and the cellulite on her legs was only really visible in bad light.
I’d do me
she thought sagely. Letting out a little chuckle, Randvi stepped into her warm bath, her wine resting on the sill beside the tub. Sitting down and letting out a sigh, the redhead placed her head back and relaxed.
Friday 1800 hours
Naval Base
“Honestly guys, I really don’t feel like going out. I’m going to just have a quiet one” Eivor pleaded with her mates, the day’s events playing heavily on her mind.
“No Wolf-Kissed, you’re coming out. We’re heading to Choppers. Maybe you’ll find a nice piece of ass to make you feel better” one of the young guys called to her, Eivor rolling her eyes.
Why do I still live here with these halfwits?
Eivor had moved to the city solely for the naval barracks. Not knowing anyone here she had decided to live on base for a time. That had been 5 years ago. It really was time to look for her own place.
“Just because you can’t get any tail, nice or not, doesn’t mean I have to try, Raider” she called back at the young sailor.
“Come on Varinsdottir, it’ll be fun” Synin pleaded with her mate, most likely not wanting to be left alone with the idiots.
“Yeah, alright. I’m not getting drunk though! Last time I ended up naked in some fucking bush. I was finding thorns for weeks”
Friday 2000 hours
Randvi’s Apartment
Randvi had ordered an Indian curry from Uber Eats once she’d gotten out of the bath. Waiting impatiently for her food to arrive, she’d poured herself another drink and decided to take stock of what she’d left in her wardrobe here.
Technically Randvi had lived in this city for a year, pity she’d been overseas for 10 months of it. Her eyes track to a dress that was hanging on the end of the rack, her hand brushing over the soft material.
Sigurd loved this dress
Yanking it off the coat hanger, Randvi threw it onto the floor. Working her way along the line of clothes, she scoffed and aww’ed at certain pieces as she went by, every now and again, throwing a piece onto the pile on the floor.
Out with the old and in with the new.
The doorbell rang and Randvi ran downstairs to get her food. Thanking the delivery driver profusely, Randvi sat down eagerly to enjoy her dinner – a curry one of her go-to favourites. Her high-rise apartment was aglow with warm lighting and the city lights were shining below her.
All was quiet in the apartment as she ate, understanding slowly dawning on her that she felt awfully alone. No one to share food with or talk to. Incredibly, her mind floated back to the blonde woman from today.
Realising how sad her Friday night was, Randvi sighed:
Screw this, I need a drink.
Putting the leftovers of her dinner into the fridge, Randvi made her way upstairs, taking the bottle of red with her. Black was what she was wearing tonight! Black to match her social life.
Friday 2130 hours
Choppers – self-proclaimed “Best Gay Bar in Town”
Eivor handed over her ID as the bouncer looked her up and down.
“Had anything to drink tonight?” he asked with a lift of his chin in Eivor’s direction, authority streaming from the man.
“No sir” Eivor retorted immediately, a pull of embarrassment taking her immediately after realising what she had said.
The bouncer looked at her like she was taking the piss.
“Sorry mate” she replied “habit. Marines”
“Ah, Semper Fi sailor” the stocky bouncer’s deameanour changed instantly, respect shown for Eivor at once.
Stepping aside, the bouncer ushered her and her mates in.
“Yo BeBe, skip the cover charge aye” he yelled over his shoulder to the Drag Queen manning the front desk.
“Oooo he must like you!” she sing-songed to the group, making Eivor feel relaxed and at ease with a large smile on her face. Tonight may be alright after all. Getting their stamps, the group entered and beelined for the downstairs bar. Beer was her go to on a Friday night – a way to finish off a hard week.
“150 Lashes please” she yelled over the old school rock coming from this particular dance floor.
“Oh honey, you can lash me anytime!” the bartender laughed as he walked away to get her drink, Eivor smiled after him, feeling herself enjoying the moment more than she realized she would.
Upstairs she motioned to her mates after they’d all gotten their drinks and paid their respective amounts. Eivor needed to keep an eye on her bank account this time. Waking up in a bush had not only taken a hit at her dignity but also her bank account. Incredibly she still had her phone in her pocket but far out, she must have shouted some rounds that night.
The second story dance floor of Choppers was her favourite. She often didn’t tell anyone but 80s/90s pop was hands down her guilty pleasure. She told her mates that this is where the hottest women were but in reality, she just liked the music.
Putting their coins on a pool table to reserve it for the next round, the group sat at a high table and took in the atmosphere. Eivor noticed that it was really quite busy tonight:
“Great” she thought with an internal roll of her eyes “more women Raider will try to set me up with”
James Raider, another Marine Major she had gone through officer training with, had a thing for playing her wingman and trying to set her up with every eligible woman they met. She honestly had no idea why. Maybe he was hiding behind that to cover up something on his end? Not sure.
The pool table occupants finished their round and Synin nudged her in the ribs:
“C’mon Wolf-Kissed, you and me verse Raider and Hunwald – we’ll flog ‘em”
Eivor gave her a cocky grin and nodded, taking a pull of her beer as she stood up to grab a pool stick.
She was pretty sharp at pool; her foster father had taught her as a kid. It was about all he taught her but at least it was a skill she had taken into adulthood.
Friday 2145 hours
Choppers – self-proclaimed “Best Gay Bar in Town”
Randvi had heard of this place through a friend of hers, said it was the best place to go because:
“The guys would rather compliment you on your outfit rather than grab your ass.”
Randvi had laughed at her description but internally was intrigued, not letting on to her friend that she, in fact, had had dalliances with women in her youth, before Sigurd…
A little buzzed from her bottle of wine, Randvi had walked into Choppers to the downstairs bar. She liked a bit of Old School Rock but it wasn’t the vibe she was feeling tonight. If she was honest with herself, the vibe she was looking for was ‘find someone to bang’ but that’s not exactly something you should write across your forehead now, is it?
Knowing that the second-floor bar had happy hour (for 2 hours!) on cocktails from 10 – midnight, she made her way up the stairs. Her boots so much more comfortable to be in than her heels from the day.
The bar was quite packed, a few stools strewn haphazardly around it for the people (like her) who had come to drink alone.
Stealing herself for a night of sipping cocktails and people watching, she ordered a cocktail (Viking Cosmopolitan), which tasted like a normal Cosmo but with a little plastic axe that was used as the stirrer.
“I wonder how much landfill all that plastic creates” Randvi thought as she took in the small toy. Thanking the bartender and sitting down at the bar, Randvi had a look around the place. There were quite a few on the dance floor, “Hit Me Baby One More Time” was apparently a real banger to dance to. There were large groups sitting down around some high tables, including, she cringed, what looked like a bunch of straight guys (jeans, an assortment of button up shirts and dress shoes that looked like they’d been picked out by their girlfriends) that sat around a table giving her “the eyes” as she liked to call it. The only other group here were four people playing pool.
Taking out her phone, she checked that she hadn’t received any messages, checked a dm on her Instagram story where she’d taken a photo of her empty wine bottle and written “Where’d all the wine go?” with a shrugging GIF and then clicked it back closed. A few months ago, she would have sat there and stalked Sigurd’s facebook page, looking for any clues of what her husband was up to on his “business” trips.
Turning to face back to the bar, a neon sign caught Randvi’s eye across the other side of the room. Not having her glasses on, the entire thing just looked blurry. Cursing whatever God dealt with aging, she went to get up to move over to read it.
“Major Varinsdottir?!” Randvi exclaimed as she almost ran headfirst into a blonde woman coming to the bar, the side of her head shaved with a tattoo around her ear, her hair in a half up half down top knot. Randvi raked her eyes over the woman, dressed in grey jeans with a button down blue and black shirt that she’d tied at her hips, her Dock Martins looking thoroughly worn in.
Yep, definitely gay.
“Ma’am!” Eivor said, her expression turning from one of confusion to horror.
“Oh Jesus, please don’t call me that here” Randvi said quickly, looking around to see if anyone had heard her, more of a joke than anything but… really. Come on now.
Eivor seemed to relax a little at the joke and laughed: “sorry, habit.”
A long, awkward silence followed where the two women tried to avoid each other’s gaze but couldn’t really take their eyes off each other.
“Are you here…”
“What brings you…”
They both laughed as they started their sentences at the same time, trying to fill in the uncomfortable gap. Eivor relented:
“You first”
“Ohh” Randvi chuckled nervously (was she blushing?) “I was just wondering what brought you here tonight?”
Eivor glanced over towards the pool tables where her mates were having a round without her. She had wiped the table clean so the losers were playing off to see who the biggest loser was. “Some friends convinced me to come out… I’m, ahh, glad I did now” Eivor added, quite shyly at the end.
Did Randvi just hear that right? Surely not, this young gun of woman would have girls falling off her. She must have meant something else.
“If you don’t mind me saying Ma’… Randvi” Eivor’s eyes boring into Randvi’s as Randvi delighted slightly in the way that the women rolled the R at the beginning of her name. “You don’t really seem the type to be in a gay bar?” Eivor finished, ducking her head but then lifting it back up slightly to gauge the redhead’s reaction.
“Don’t I?!” Randvi scoffed, feigned outrage seeping through her voice, her face splitting into a grin at the younger women. The buzz from her bottle of wine and the cocktail were making her a little more outgoing than she would normally be.
“Honestly, Eivor… it’s okay to call you Eivor, right?” Randvi checked quickly, the blonde women smiling and nodding at her.
“Good” Randvi sighed a little laughing “Honestly, I’m really just over penises” Randvi blurted, so blunt that she shocked even herself.
Eivor looked at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, then she burst out laughing.
A blush had risen up Randvi’s neck towards her face, unsure whether it was because of her idiotic comment or the fact that she’d made the blonde laugh so hard.
“I should say” Randvi followed on with “I’m over one particular penis. My divorce finalsed recently” she finished with a nod, taking a long sip of her cocktail, wishing she could currently drown herself in it.
“Ahhhh, condolences?” Eivor said awkwardly, laughing “Is that the right thing to say?”
“In my situation, it’s more like ‘good riddance’ so let’s go with that” Randvi smiled at the women, her scarred cheek barely visible in the low light of the bar.
“Well, this deserves a toast, good riddance to penises and a terrible marriage!” Eivor exclaimed, looking around her for her drink and realizing that is actually why she’d come to the bar. “A toast in a minute…”
The blonde got the attention of the bartender “150 lashes and a cosmo please”
Randvi whipped around quickly, taking in the side profile of this striking women in front of her. Eivor didn’t seem phased at all to have ordered a drink for a relative stranger. About to protest and insist that she paid, Eivor turned around and interrupted.
“It’s not a toast to your life if you pay for the drinks, Randvi” apparently having read her mind from where she was standing.
Randvi’s stomach did a little flop:
Are these fucking butterflies?
Randvi giggled a little, cringing at herself for sounding like a schoolgirl again with her first crush but shit, there was just something about this woman!
Randvi finished the rest of her drink and placed it on the bar as Eivor passed over a fresh one.
“To you, Randvi, may you be happy in life without penises and marriage” Eivor laughed as she clinked her drink with Randvi, both women smiling over the top of their drinks at each other.
“So seeing as we’ve broached the subject of male genitalia” Eivor began, amazed that such a topic had come up so quickly, “does that mean that you are now striving for a life of celibacy or….?”
“Ha! My marriage WAS a life of celibacy!” Randvi said without thinking.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, did she really just say that?
Randvi cringed “what I meant to say, before my big mouth opened, was that no, I am not striving for a life of celibacy. I may just be looking for something… different” taking another swig of her drink, eyeing Eivor over her glass as the blonde swallowed visibly.
“I see” Eivor said, turning her gaze back to the bar, just so that the pure want in her eyes wouldn’t show to the redhead.
Taking a large swig of her beer, Eivor looked down at it: “I think I’m off the beers tonight, you know. How are the cocktails?”
A blatant change of subject if ever Randvi had heard one. Maybe she was right. Perhaps there was a perky young woman chasing after this ravishing woman - what hope did Randvi have?
“Excellent” came Randvi’s reply, an octave too high, hoping that ‘Mambo Number 5’ had drowned out her voice. Eivor looked at Randvi and then downed the end of her beer.
“Another?” Eivor questioned, pointing to her cocktail with a brow raised. Randvi shrugged and nodded as nonchalantly as she could, trying to appear far more cool, calm and collected than she felt on the inside.
Eivor ordered their drinks and was passing over Randvi’s when one of the “girlfriend chose their shoes” guys came over to the bar, squeezing his way in between Eivor and Randvi.
“How you goin’, sweetheart?” he drawled at Randvi, her entire body leaning away from his cologne and the bourbon on his breath.
A tap on the shoulder behind the bloke made him turn around for a second, barely taking his eyes off the redhead.
“Buddy, she’s not into you. Get a drink and go back to whatever plaid shirt hole you came out of” Eivor said, as politely as if she’d asked somebody what time the bus came at the shelter.
“Piss off, ya dyke, she’s clearly not one of you” he spat at Eivor.
Randvi watched in amazement and slight amusement as ‘fun Eivor at the bar’ turned into ‘Marine Major Varinsdottir’.
“Mate, I said move off” Eivor said in a low tone that brokered no argument. Mr ‘girlfriend shoes’ could obviously tell that this was not a person he wanted to cross. He shot one last look at Randvi and then glared at Eivor as he walked away.
Randvi let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding.
“That was…” she stopped for a moment.
Eivor looked at her with a worried expression: “Bad. I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry”
“Brilliant!” Randvi finished her sentence.
Eivor’s eyes snapped up to Randvi’s and a small smile crept over her face “Really?”
“Yeah!” Randvi nodded, fully engrossed in what had just happened. “For one I almost hoped that you belted him one just for calling you… that word and two, I’ve never seen a man walk away with his tail between his legs like that!”
Eivor laughed “Comes with the job, I guess. I’ve had to put many men back into their place. They don’t particularly like it, as you can imagine. And that word, well… I’ve been called worse”
Randvi looked at Eivor, this fierce warrior Marine who almost looked bashful at the attention she was getting from Randvi. Throwing caution to the wind, she turned to the bar, the bartender nodding at her for her order. Without really thinking, Randvi asked “open a tab for me and my friend here, would you?” as she handed over her credit card. “and two more cosmos please”
Eivor looked at Randvi with pure mirth on her face: “we already have full ones here!”
“Eh, it’s not like we won’t drink them.” Randvi replied, buggered if she’s going to let a fun night with this woman slip away.
Who gives a flying fruitbat if this woman has young perky tits running after her, she’s drinking with me tonight.
Randvi smiled as the thought crossed her mind, Eivor’s smile mirroring her own as she looked up at her. They finished their current cocktails relatively quickly as Randvi inquired about Eivor’s past. Having spilled her guts about her failed marriage in the first innings of the conversation, Randvi wanted to know a little more about the younger woman.
It turns out Eivor was absolutely charming, certainly a far call from the stoic and cold Marine that she had met today. Randvi was a little infatuated as she watched her talk.
Those lips.
Remembering the thoughts that had rushed through her head in the map room today, Randvi felt a blush making its way up her cheeks, yet again – completely missing what the blonde had said to her.
“Sorry! I was in my own little world!” Randvi apologised quickly.
“Am I boring you?” Eivor laughed, a little insecurity coming through her voice.
Wanting the woman to know that that was definitely not the case, Randvi put on her most coy smile: “absolutely not, quite the opposite actually. I was rather distracted by you”
Eivor’s eyes widened once again, this time not turning away as a surge of pure want washed over her.
“Would you like to dance?” Eivor said, voice a little choked, both women feeling the effects of the alcohol.
“I’d love to” Randvi agreed, taking Eivor’s outstretched hand.
Both women stopped momentarily as their hands touched, electricity sizzling between them. Grabbing their drinks, Randvi led Eivor out onto the dance floor, the blonde trailing behind her.
Keeping a finger intertwined for a small time, the women started to dance. Randvi was feeling particularly lighthearted, whether it be the alcohol or the company, she didn’t know but was moving like she hadn’t in years.
Frustrated at having to hold her drink, Eivor downed her Cosmo in one. Putting it quickly to the side of the dance floor, she moved her way back to Randvi, lip synching ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’. Jumping around like drunken fools, Randvi spilling more cocktail over herself than actually drinking, the two made their way into each other’s space.
Randvi was very close to Eivor, her drink in her hand all that was separating their torsos, the two sharing breath. Thinking that that wouldn’t do, Randvi tossed back her drink with a flourish and a slightly seductive smile and put it to the side.
As she made her way back to the dancefloor, Eivor standing their watching her every move, the opening beats of ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ started. Feeling rather sensual under Eivor’s gaze, Randvi started strutting towards the woman, grabbing her by the shirt and pulling their bodies flush together. Eivor’s hands went straight to Randvi’s hips, absolutely enamored by this woman in front of her.
Randvi slowly started rolling her hips as she held onto Eivor’s shirt, moving her way languidly in Eivor’s grasp, always making sure there was a point of contact. A major Centre Stage fan, Randvi had always loved the sexiness of this song.
Looking up at Eivor, Randvi couldn’t help but smirk at the expression on her face – she had her.
They continued dancing, far too closely to be exactly appropriate but gods, she did not care. It had been a long time since Randvi had had this type of attention from anyone. Her heart was beating hard against her ribs, both women constantly dropping their eyeline to the lips of the other.
As the song slowly faded out, Eivor moved her hand up to Randvi’s jaw, slowly running her thumb along the redhead’s cheek. Randvi locked eyes with Eivor, blue on blue and gave an almost imperceptible nod, enough for Eivor to know she was welcome.
Eivor dove forward, catching Randvi’s lips in a kiss she’d been thinking about for hours. The soft feel of her lips mixed with the sweet tang of the Cosmos on her tongue were enough to drive Eivor wild. Deepening the kiss, Eivor moved both her hands to the back of Randvi’s head as Randvi grabbed onto to the blonde’s waist, feeling almost lightheaded at the intensity of the kiss. Parting for air, both women stared at each other and simultaneously letting out a self-conscious chuckle.
“That was…” Eivor began.
“Yep…” Randvi agreed, unable to stop the huge grin on her face.
“Drink?”
“Of course.”
This time Eivor led them off the dance floor, intertwining her fingers with Randvi’s and moving towards the bar. Ordering two Cosmos, they grabbed their drinks and retreated to a table in the corner of the room.
“What happened to your friends? Randvi asked, suddenly remembering that Eivor came with people.
“Ah, they left ages ago” Eivor laughed, realising how drunk she was now that she was sitting. “It’s okay, I’m a big girl, I can find my way home.”
A flicker of disappointment must have crossed Randvi’s face because Eivor reached out and grabbed her hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing it gently. “I don’t have to, if you don’t want me to though?”
Randvi’s stomach did that little flip again, it had been a longgggg time since she’d been in these waters. “I guess we wait and see” she said with a smirk.
“I guess we shall” Eivor repeated as she downed her drink again in one.
“Steady there, Tiger, you’ll be passed out before you know it!” Randvi laughed at the woman’s drinking skill.
“Tiger” Eivor scoffed “Let me go and get us another round and I’ll tell you how my nickname, Wolf-Kissed, came about”
“Wold-Kissed?!” Randvi exclaimed as Eivor walked away, throwing her a smirk over her shoulder as she went. Randvi appreciated the view as she walked away and then turned back to the table, taking a small sip of her cocktail. In truth, she was getting to the limit of what her body could take on the booze front, but Eivor seemed keen to keep going. When in Rome…
“My lady” Eivor said as she placed a second drink in front of Randvi, sitting down and facing her body towards Randvi, everything in her body language open and honest for the woman in front of her.
“Okay Wolf-Kissed” Randvi said, the term feeling weird on her tongue, “tell me how this nickname came about.”
Eivor took a sip of her drink and then moved her hair away from her neck, exposing the skin underneath. Randvi let out an audible gasp – the skin was scarred beyond measure, dappled in a way that Randvi had never seen.
Eivor looked at her, a strange vulnerability coming over her: “I know, it’s ugly” she said quietly.
“No!” Randvi said, reaching out to run a hand over the skin. “I was actually thinking about how much it must have hurt! What happened?”
Randvi continued to stroke the skin lightly as Eivor’s eyes almost closed in bliss. Feeling that they were getting a bit too close to some painful truths, Randvi pulled her hand away and said truthfully “Only if you feel comfortable telling me?”
Eivor narrowed in her gaze in on Randvi, who could have absolutely been fooled by how many drinks Eivor had put down tonight as the blonde’s eyes were clear as crystal: “I feel like I could tell you anything, Randvi” she confessed.
Randvi’s stomach really had to stop doing that little flop.
“I was 9” Eivor began, “hunting with my Dad. I was an only child and I think he really wanted a boy” she chuckled humorlessly. “It was winter so all the ponds had frozen over, kinda luckily I guess, otherwise I probably would have drowned.” She looked up at Randvi at this point, the redhead nodding for her to keep going.
“I slipped off a high trail, falling down the embankment towards a frozen pond. Dad couldn’t follow me without breaking his neck, so he had to find a way down safely. I had a small hunting knife tucked into my belt, thank goodness because once I hit the ice, a howl came from behind me – I will never forget that sound. It still raises the hair on the back of my neck. Anyway, the wolf pounced, neither of us heavy enough to break the ice, so it grabbed hold of my neck and shook. I thought I was about to die. I guess survival instincts kicked in and I plunged the knife up into its belly. It howled but didn’t attack again. That’s all I remember”
Randvi couldn’t do anything but stare as Eivor finished her story and downed her drink.
“My Dad eventually got to me, but he had to slide his way over the ice on his belly and drag me off. By this point, I’d lost a lot of blood and it was a fair hike back to town. Lucky to be alive really” she shrugged.
“Wolf-Kissed” Randvi said quietly, eyes wide in awe at the story. By this point, Randvi had stopped drinking, her stomach full and more than sufficiently drunk to feel good.
She pushed her second Cosmo over to Eivor with a nod and raised her glass “to being alive” she toasted, clinking her glass against Eivor’s. They both drank and this time it was Randvi who surged forward to find Eivor’s lips. A chaste peck turned a little deeper again as Eivor pulled Randvi off her stool to stand up between her legs - the kiss sloppy as both were quite intoxicated at this point.
Feeling brave, Randvi pulled back from the embrace and whispered, “shall we get out of here?”
All Eivor could do was nod.
Walking passed the bar with Eivor’s hand tucked in her own, Randvi stopped and asked the bartender if she could close her tab. The bartender looked at her and laughed replying that it had been closed ages ago and looked at Eivor behind her shoulder.
“You didn’t?!” Randvi said incredulously.
“I couldn’t let you pay for your drinks on a night of celebration. No more penises!” she yelled to the bar.
A roar went up and Randvi couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the antics of this incredible woman.
Pulling Eivor’s arm closer to her body, they walked out of the bar, hand in hand.
Saturday 0200 hours
Randvi had forgotten what it was like when you are really drunk and then you hit the cold night air as you come out of a club. It’s like turning a faucet onto cold and switching the ‘drunk metre’ up to maximum.
Randvi, however, was fairing a lot better than Eivor. Stumbling together towards the nearest Taxi rank, Randvi had to be a supporting presence beside Eivor otherwise the women was going headfirst into the pavement.
“How much did you have to drink, Wolf-Kissed?” Randvi asked, giggling at their stumbling walk.
“More like Randvi-kissed tonight!” Eivor said triumphantly. “I may have had a few before I saw you… and I may have had a shot… or two, when I went to get us drinks from the bar… Youweremakingme sonervous!!!
“You sneaky Marine!”
“Imregrettingitnow” Eivor slurred.
Randvi all but pushed the drunk blonde into a taxi, giving the man her address as she went. Eivor layed her head on Randvi’s shoulder and intertwined their fingers.
“You know Rrrrrrandvi” Eivor said, exaggerating the roll of the R, much to Randvi’s delight, “Irealllly liked you today. I dina say nufin cause I was marine, yanno?”
“I really liked you too, ya drunken goose!”
“Goose” Eivor snorted, apparently finding that funny then lapsing back into her drunken stupor.
They pulled up in front of Randvi’s apartment, paying the Cabbie a little extra for the pain of listening to Eivor’s drunken slurring, and Randvi had to make sure that Eivor, once again, did not faceplant as she got out. Eivor stood up from the cab and pointed to a bush, laughing.
Randvi looking utterly bemused at her antics, put her arm around her shoulder and hauled them up towards her apartment. Somehow getting the key in the door while supporting Eivor’s bodyweight, Randvi was able to hold it open for the blonde.
Much to Randvi’s horror (delight), Eivor started walking upstairs towards the bedroom, having no idea how she knew where it was, leaving a trail of clothes behind her.
Randvi stood frozen at her door, remembering to lock it behind herself.
Does she think we’re going to…? Surely not.
Randvi walked cautiously towards her bedroom, grabbing Eivor’s clothes as she went up each stair. She turned the corner to her room and couldn’t help but laugh at the sight in front of her.
Eivor had slumped, face first, into the bed, arms down beside her and only underwear and socks left on her body. She was already snoring like a wounded animal. Feeling a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to fend off the amorous advances of a very drunk woman, Randvi moved Eivor so the blanket was covering her. Not having a proper couch to sleep on or any other choices, Randvi would have to slot in beside her – sure that the blonde wouldn’t notice anyway.
Grabbing a glass of water and some ibuprofen for herself and some to put beside the bed for Eivor, Randvi changed into some pajamas and passed out beside her.
Saturday 0730
Randvi’s Apartment
Eivor woke to the sun shining through a crack in the blind, rolling over and groaning at the stabbing pain in her head and nausea in her stomach. It took her a second to realise that she had no idea where she was.
What the fuck did I get myself into?
She looked down under the doona at her state of undress and groaned again - it wouldn’t be the first time she doesn’t remember doing that after a night out.
Looking around her, Eivor noticed the bedside table, piled high with things. A glass of water and some ibuprofen (thank the Lord!) were in front but also a towel, an unopened toothbrush and a Marine’s training shirt. A note sat on top of the towel:
I didn’t want to wake you.
Please feel free to stay and recover from that hangover I’m sure is raging through your head.
I’ve gone to get some groceries for breakfast.
Come down when you’re ready.
Randvi
p.s. God, I hope you remember who I am.
Eivor laughed at the last line. She was remembering most of the night now… not how they got home though… or why she was naked.
Grabbing everything from the bedside table, Eivor moved to the bathroom to soak some of the booze out of her body.
****
Randvi opened the door of her apartment as quietly as she could, scared that the woman upstairs was still sleeping. Hearing the shower running, Randvi let out a small sigh of relief that Eivor hadn’t bolted out the door as soon as she woke up.
Battling a small hangover herself, Randvi poured a glass of cold water and drank deeply. Her mind wandered to the very attractive Marine upstairs who was currently naked in her shower – her stomach flipped again.
You’re a grown ass woman, Randvi, pull it together.
Randvi set to unpacking the breakfast groceries and started cooking the bacon - the smell making her mouth water.
Not knowing what to do with herself as she waited for the bacon to cook… and Eivor to come downstairs, Randvi resigned to scrolling her Instagram feed, not actually seeing anything in front of her. Her mind kept jumping back to the dance floor of the previous night, Eivor’s soft lips and the feel of her body against hers.
Footsteps coming down the staircase startled her out of her trance, quickly flipping the bacon that had started to burn because of her daydream.
Eivor walked around the corner, far more self-consciously than she had moved last night. Randvi’s breathe hitched for a moment as she took in Eivor’s long, fit legs poking out from under the oversized t-shirt, her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and face looking like a deer in head-lights.
“Good morning” Eivor rasped, clearing her throat and laughing awkwardly, running her hand over the scar on her neck then placing it on the counter beside Randvi.
“Good morning” Randvi responded, smiling at the situation they found themselves in. “I’m assuming you remember who I am?”
Both women laughed but Eivor nodded, “Yes, very much so” she replied with so much of something in her voice, Randvi’s head spun trying to figure it out – was it want?
Eivor looked down at herself and gestured up towards the bathroom: “thank you for all of this. I feel a little more human”
“You’re welcome, I knew your head would be hurting today.”
Eivor hesitated a moment: “We, ahh, we didn’t, you know?”
Randvi couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Call me old fashioned but I prefer my shags to be with a conscious person” she smiled warmly, letting the blonde know that she didn’t hold it against her.
“Ha. Fair play” Eivor laughed along with Randvi, the joke having seemed to break the awkward tension in the room.
“Shit!” Randvi exclaimed, as once again she’d forgotten about the bacon cooking in front of her. “I hope you like crispy bacon.”
“I like any bacon!” Eivor replied, “Have you showered? I can take over while you head upstairs?”
Randvi looked at her, an invitation on her lips but chickened out and shook her head.
“No I haven’t, that would be really nice, if that’s okay?”
“Of course,” Eivor smiled, walking forwards to take the tongs out of Randvi’s hand. Randvi began to move out of Eivor’s space, the blond catching her hand quickly before she could walk past. Hesitantly intertwining her fingers with the redheads, both women stared down at their joined hands.
“I really, really enjoyed myself last night” Eivor said quietly, moving her eyes up to Randvi’s.
Randvi’s stomach did that little flip again (for fucks sake!) and before she knew it, she was moving forward to kiss the blonde women in nothing but an oversized t-shirt, making breakfast in her kitchen.
Randvi pulled back: “I did too” she grinned “but I’m afraid I smell like a brewery right now, a shower would probably do me good.”
“I’ll be waiting for you when you return”
Eivor turned back to the cooking, a thought jumping into her head before Randvi had made it upstairs.
“Randvi?” Eivor called up the stairs, “whose shirt is this?”
“Ahhhhhh. Ummmmm.”
“Your ex-husband’s, isn’t it?” Eivor laughed a little at her hesitancy to answer her question.
Randvi’s head popped over the top of the banister: “I’m sorry! I didn’t have anything else that you would be comfortable in” Randvi exclaimed, really hoping that Eivor wasn’t upset with her.
Eivor chuckled and looked up at Randvi “It seems you have a type, you silly goose”
Randvi laughed: “Goose” and walked in to have her shower, this time, her heart flipping in a way she hadn’t felt in years.
THE END – FOR NOW.