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the trail had stopped being fun approximately an hour ago.
tamara knew this because she'd spent the last hour counting increasingly stupid things to distract herself from the fact that she was actively dying.
first it had been trees.
then big rocks.
then birds and bugs.
then all the different ways she could murder tori and make it look like an accident.
tamara was going to kill her.
not metaphorically.
not affectionately.
actually kill her.
the only thing stopping her was the fact that if she pushed tori off the mountain, she'd probably have to hike back down alone.
and that sounded even worse.
the path stretched endlessly ahead of them, winding through pine trees and rocky slopes. the view was apparently beautiful.
tamara wouldn't know.
she was too busy experiencing every stage of human suffering.
“you're walking slower than an eighty year old grandmother,” tori said suddenly.
tamara halted to glare at her.
“i hope a bear eats you,” she hissed.
tori didn't even seem tired.
the asshole wasn't even breathing hard.
she stood a few meters ahead on the trail with cheeks slightly red from the sun, looking like she'd just finished a pleasant stroll around the block instead of climbing a mountain for the last two hours.
her ponytail was still neat and she was carrying an actual hiking backpack stuffed with supplies, an extra jacket, a first aid kit, enough food to survive a small apocalypse, and probably three different field guides she'd somehow smuggled along.
meanwhile, tamara had a tiny drawstring bag containing a bottle of water and a sandwich.
and she felt like someone had replaced her lungs with sandpaper.
her shirt was sticking to her back. sweat dripped down her neck. her legs felt like overcooked noodles.
“you're not even tired,” tamara muttered.
“i am.”
“no, you're not.”
“i am… a little.”
tamara narrowed her eyes as tori smiled at her.
the smile alone was enough proof that she was lying.
“bitch.”
“tammy.”
“don't 'tammy' me.”
tori snorted and finally stepped back toward her, while tamara bent forward, braced her hands on her knees, and considered throwing up.
before tamara could protest, tori slipped in beside her and gently hooked her arm under tamara's to help her straighten up.
tamara's knees cracked loudly.
tori waited beside her, clearly trying not to laugh.
“are your knees okay?”
tamara let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“i've been telling you my legs were giving up for the hour.” she glanced at tori with the most unimpressed expression imaginable. “you probably just weren't listening.”
"i was listening," tori replied. “i chose to ignore you."
tamara let out a deeply offended gasp.
"...you're horrible."
"maybe.” tori's mouth twitched into a grin.
"come on.”
without letting go of tamara's arm, tori guided her a few more steps along the trail.
then, instead of continuing straight ahead, she gently steered her off the path and through a small gap between the trees.
“where are we going?” tamara asked suspiciously.
“just trust me.”
the bushes brushed against their legs, the branches occasionally caught on their sleeves, and a few moments later, the amounts of trees began to decrease.
“look,” tori pointed ahead.
tamara was fully prepared to ignore her out of spite, but curiosity won.
she looked up and immediately forgot what she was about to say.
the trail opened into a wide clearing.
a meadow stretched across the mountainside, covered in tall grass and tiny flowers swaying in the wind. beyond it, the land dropped away into an endless view of forests and distant peaks fading into the horizon.
the sky looked impossibly huge.
for a moment neither of them spoke.
then tamara stumbled forward a few steps.
"...okay, that's actually pretty nice."
"yeah?”
tamara stared for another few seconds.
then instantly collapsed backward, landing in the grass with a loud thump.
“TAMARA—”
“...'m fine,” she said, closing her eyes.
the grass was surprisingly soft beneath her. a breeze brushed against her skin. and honestly? this part of hiking wasn't terrible.
a shadow fell across her face.
when she peeked up, tori was standing over her.
“so dramatic, and for what? you scared the shit out of me.”
"i’m becoming one with nature,” tamara mumbled, spreading her arms dramatically and lazily grabbing a handful of grass, twisting it between her fingers.
tori finally shrugged off her backpack and dropped it onto the ground with a heavy thud. the grass shifted beside tamara and a second later came the familiar sound of buckles clicking open.
tori sat down beside her in the grass, and for a moment she looked out over the meadow and the valley beyond it while the wind tugged at loose strands of her hair.
tamara watched her from where she laid.
it was unfair how pretty tori looked when she was happy.
especially outdoors, when she did that thing where she got completely distracted by nature and forgot how to act normal.
then tori looked down at her.
a smile immediately appeared.
tamara closed her eyes.
maybe if she ignored her, tori would eventually wander off.
instead she heard movement beside her.
then above her.
she opened one eye.
tori had shifted much closer, one arm planted on the ground beside tamara's head as she leaned over her.
the sun was behind her now, making her look unbearably gorgeous.
tori glanced down at tamara's grey shirt.
“you're so sweaty,” she barked out a laugh.
tamara groaned and dropped both hand over her face.
“leave me alone,” she muttered behind her hands.
tori looked delighted.
“there are actual sweat stains. like— visible ones.”
tamara made a muffled noise into her hands. she was aware of the dark patches spreading across her chest, under her arms, around her collar, and she was pretty sure the back was even worse.
tori was trying very hard not to laugh.
“actually—”
“tori,” tamara hissed, peeking through her fingers.
“—i changed my mind.”
“what do you mean?” tamara narrowed her eyes.
“you look really sexy.”
the silence that followed was immediate.
tamara stared at her.
tori stared right back — perfectly serious, which somehow made it worse.
“...what?”
“you're kind of insanely attractive right now,” tori shrugged, leaning over tamara again, hair falling slightly forward.
“please stop?” tamara let out an awkward laugh.
“no.”
“i'm begging.”
“no.”
“i'm at my weakest, have mercy.”
tori smiled and reached forward to gently caught one of tamara's wrists. she carefully lowered her hand from her face, just enough that tamara couldn't hide anymore.
and before tamara could retreat behind her other hand, tori leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
tamara's brain immediately forgot what she was complaining about.
she kissed her back automatically.
it was a soft, brief thing that lasted only a second before tori finally pulled away.
“...you're in a weird mood.”
“you're just noticing?” tori’s grin widened.
for another second she stayed where she was, one hand still resting lightly on tamara's wrist.
then she finally sat back, settling onto the grass beside her and reaching for her backpack.
the thing practically swallowed her arm when she opened it.
tamara watched her dig through it.
“it's a special occasion. you never come with me on these trips."
tamara pretended to gasp. “i wonder why.”
tori ignored her.
“usually it's just me, sometimes patrycja, pauline, occasionally ell for a day or two,” she hummed, rummaging through the backpack. "—and this time i somehow convinced you.”
tamara looked away toward the valley.
it was true — she normally didn't join tori. most of her trips turned into adventures halfway across the country, camping, hiking, sleeping in questionable places.
tamara preferred buildings.
buildings have couches, TVs, roofs… — important inventions.
tori nudged her shoulder with her knee. “it's nice, right?”
tamara huffed and grabbed a handful of grass to throw it at her.
tori dodged most of it and a moment later she produced a bottle of water and one of the sandwiches she'd packed that morning.
tamara watched as she unscrewed the cap.
tori tipped the bottle back and took a long drink.
tamara found herself staring.
mostly because she was tired.
not because tori looked pretty sitting there in the sunlight, or because she could see the movement of her throat every time she swallowed.
absolutely not.
tori lowered the bottle with a hum. “honestly, i was thinking of this as a date.”
tamara blinked at her. “a what?”
“a date.”
“this?”
“yeah.”
tamara sat up onto one elbow for a second. she looked around, then at herself — sweaty, covered in grass, half dead.
“tori.”
“hm?” tori glanced at her.
“this is the worst date i've ever been on.”
“you're kidding,” tori frowned slightly.
“you made me climb a mountain!”
“hill, actually.”
tamara crossed her arms. “no. absolutely not. the next date is my choice.”
“and what's your plan?” tori looked amused.
tamara didn't even need to think about it.
“a couch.”
“that's not a date.”
“it absolutely is. we can watch a movie, order food.”
“tama—”
“we can order fancy food.”
“you're unbelievable, that's your perfect date?”
“yes.” tamara pointed at her. “a couch. a movie. we can order food, complain that we ordered too much, eat all of it anyway, and then accidentally fall asleep halfway through the movie.”
tori let out a quiet laugh. “that's it?”
“that is it,” tamara shrugged. “i spend all week working. i don't want to wake up at six in the morning to climb… whatever this is.” she gestured dramatically at the hill behind them.
tamara smiled to herself before adding, a little quieter, “besides... you know me. i'm not exactly built for hiking.”
she leaned back and closed her eyes for a few seconds, happy to stay exactly where she was.
“you spend half your life travelling somewhere. mountains, forests, beaches, camping... you're always doing something.” she picked absentmindedly at the grass beside her. “i'm happy if i've got a blanket, decent food, and someone to waste an evening with.”
there was a short silence.
“you'd get bored after an hour,” tamara muttered.
tori thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “i'd do that.”
tamara blinked. she hated how pretty tori's smile was, especially in sunlight. and even more when it was directed at her.
“...you would?”
“sure.”
“really? you wouldn't get bored?”
“why would i get bored?” tori looked genuinely confused.
tamara looked away with embarrassed smile.
“hey—” tori narrowed her eyes. “if you're there, i don't really care what we're doing.”
tamara immediately felt her face get warm. “oh my god, stop.”
“what?”
“that was disgusting.”
“yeah?” tori grinned. “and you know what? i MISSED you. i'm HAPPY you're here.”
tamara waved a hand at her helplessly.
“stop trying to be nice. it's weird.”
tamara had a point, compliments weren't really tori's thing.
she wasn't good with words. never had been.
if she cared about someone, she'd rather fix whatever was broken, carry the heavy bags, remember the little things they liked, silently put an extra blanket over them when they passed out from vodka on the couch.
talking about feelings always felt awkward.
“i can be nice,” tori frowned, fighting the allegations.
tamara snorted and just looked at her.
“...occasionally,” tori corrected herself.
“thought so.”
“you're supposed to appreciate it when it happens,” tori nudged her shoulder lightly. “most people would be happy.”
“it's unsettling.”
tori stared at her for a second, looking genuinely offended.
“unbelievable,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.
she screwed the cap back onto the bottle, then nudged tamara's hip with it. “here— drink.”
tamara looked at the water. “no, thanks.”
tori sighed immediately.
“you need to drink, you look like a raisin.”
“i have a weak bladder.”
“so?”
“have you looked around? there are no bathrooms up here.”
tori glanced around the open meadow.
“and i'm not peeing in a bush.”
"everyone pees in the bushes.”
"normal people don't.”
"hikers do."
"i'm not a hiker.”
tori made a thoughtful sound, then reached down and gently tapped tamara’s cheek with her finger.
the corners of tori’s mouth were still turned up, her expression carried that familiar mix of affection and playful cruelty that tamara knew all too well.
“if it helps, i will personally guard the bushes.”
tamara blinked.
“…that does not help.”
“i can whistle while you go.”
“absolutely not.”
“i can also give commentary.”
“tori.”
“what?”
tamara let out a long, frustrated groan and sat up finally. before tori could continue whatever horrible suggestion she had prepared next, tamara reached over and snatched the bottle straight out of her hand.
she quickly unscrewed the cap and took several reluctant gulps, while tori looked unbearably pleased.
she unwrapped the sandwich that had been balancing on her knee the entire time, then lifted it slightly toward tamara.
“want some?”
tamara glanced at it.
then at tori.
the peaceful moment lasted approximately two seconds before tamara leaned forward and took the biggest bite humanly possible.
nearly half the sandwich disappeared.
there was a moment of silence.
tori slowly lowered her gaze to what remained, while tamara started chewing, completely unashamed. tori blinked at her with growing disbelief.
“what the fuck?”
“whut?” tamara continued chewing. “you offered.”
“i offered a bite.”
“that was a bite. you should’ve been more specific,” she finally swallowed. a few crumbs clung to the corner of her mouth. “and you still have some left, see?” she pointed at the sandwich with a proud grin.
the smile settled warmly in tori's chest.
wow, she really loved that girl.
even if she was insufferable most of the time.
she rolled her eyes, then took the pitiful little piece of sandwich and shoved it into her mouth before tamara could steal the rest.
tamara stretched her legs out with a miserable sigh, setting the empty bottle of water beside her.
“i'm never doing this again.”
“oh please.”
“my thighs hurt.”
“you said that earlier. like— ten minutes ago.”
“yeah, and they still hurt because you decided to torture me instead of spending some quality time on the couch.”
“—and my feet hurt even more.”
“mm, you mentioned it too.”
“did i say my back also hurts?”
tori sighed and dropped onto her back beside tamara. “anything else?”
tamara thought about it for a few seconds, staring ahead with squinted eyes.
“my feelings,” she said finally, completely serious.
“how tragic,” tori nodded solemnly, as though they were discussing a genuine medical emergency.
tamara turned to her with the look of complete betrayal.
“what? we're sitting, eating, looking at one of the prettiest views in the—”
“i don't need to leave the house for that,” tamara muttered under her breath, still sounding thoroughly offended.
“what?” tori frowned slightly, confused.
tamara stubbornly looked anywhere except at tori.
“...i said i don't need to leave the house to look at something pretty.”
tori blinked.
tamara groaned quietly.
“someone pretty,” she corrected herself, hoping tori would finally understand what she meant.
for a moment, tori simply stared at her.
she didn't tease her.
she didn't smirk.
if anything, she looked a little caught off guard.
and a moment later, tamara felt tori's hand find hers in the grass. without thinking, she squeezed it once.
“tamtam,” tori suddenly spoke up, squeezing her hand back. “thanks for coming.”
tamara looked over slowly.
tori wasn't being playful anymore. she was watching her with an oddly vulnerable expression for someone who spent half her life wandering through forests, avoiding every serious commitment.
heat immediately rushed to tamara's face.
she stared at tori for a second too long before quickly looking away again, suddenly fascinated by a random patch of grass beside her hip. she scratched absentmindedly at the dirt with her thumb, desperately trying to think of literally anything normal to say.
“...you don't have to thank me,” tamara said awkwardly. “that's what… girl—” her voice cracked suddenly.
the word caught in her throat.
her brain already committed to “girlfriends”.
“girl… friends do, right?” she finished weakly, trying — and failing — to sound casual. “like, going on fun dates… spending… time together… actively. doing. stuff.”
tori turned to look at her. for a second, she simply stared.
the corners of her mouth twitched.
another second passed.
and then she completely lost it.
a laugh burst out of her before she could stop it — loud enough to echo across the hillside. she covered her face with her free hand while her shoulders shook uncontrollably as she laughed harder and harder.
tamara stared at her in horror.
“...don't.”
“i’m—” tori wheezed, “i'm trying—”
“you…” she inhaled sharply and straightened her posture dramatically. “girl—” she croaked in an exaggerated imitation of tamara's voice before pretending to choke on the word.
tamara glared at her for exactly half a second.
then, with one sharp movement she yanked her hand out of tori's grasp and drove her fist into tori's stomach.
not hard enough to actually hurt her—
—but definitely hard enough to make tori let out a surprised “OW!”
“you little—” tori folded slightly with a startled grunt and almost on instinct, she swung her arm blindly toward tamara.
her palm landed against tamara's forehead with a soft THWAP.
both of them froze.
tori looked at the tiny handprint blooming on tamara's forehead.
and that was a huge mistake, because she burst into laughter all over again.
tamara made a noise somewhere between a growl and a frustrated whine.
she didn't even have a plan, she simply launched herself at tori out of pure indignation.
"hey—!" tori yelped, rolling away at the last second and immediately scrambling to her feet before tamara could reach her. she stumbled back a couple of steps, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
“OI, GET BACK HERE!”
tamara shot upright with considerably more energy than she'd had during the entire hike and charged after her.
“funny how your legs suddenly work!” tori managed between laughs as she backed away.
she turned to make a run for it.
she made it approximately two meters—
—before tamara simply threw herself at her.
there was no strategy.
she just launched herself forward with complete confidence that gravity would handle the rest.
"NO, NO! TAM, DON'T YOU DA—!"
tamara's arms locked around tori's shoulders as she crashed into her from behind.
they took one, maybe two hopeless steps forward together—
then gravity won.
tori lost her balance, windmilling her arms in one last attempt to stay upright before both of them crashed into the grass.
tori hit the grass face-first with a muffled OOF, and her laughter instantly cut off as the air left her lungs.
tamara landed squarely on top of her back with a triumphant grunt. “GOT YOU!”
tori groaned dramatically into the grass.
“...i think you've killed me.”
“good.”
“no, seriously.” tori tried to lift her head and immediately gave up. “get off.”
“no.”
“you're crushing me.”
“that's kind of the point,” tamara smiled smugly.
tori let out the most exaggerated sigh she could manage.
“...has anyone ever told you your ass is way heavier than it looks?”
tamara froze for a second.
“...excuse me?”
tori snorted into the grass.
"i'm serious." tori's voice came out muffled by the ground. "i can actually feel my ribs compressing. i think i'm losing circulation.”
tamara narrowed her eyes and shifted her weight, entirely on purpose.
tori let out a strangled noise.
“you did not just call me fat.”
“fat? no. i called your butt heavy.”
tamara gave her shoulder a firm shove with her knee.
“ow!”
“go on, keep talking.”
“stop,” tori huffed weakly.
“keep. talking.”
tori laughed helplessly. “i didn't even mean it like that!”
“then how did you mean it?”
“affectionately.”
“...affectionately?”
“yeah, i affectionately pointed out that it's currently flattening my internal organs.”
tamara huffed and leaned forward, putting even more of her weight onto tori's back.
tori immediately let out the most dramatic gasp imaginable. “FEAN—”
“better?”
“i've seen the light.”
“good.”
“tell ell…” tori wheezed dramatically. “...tell ell i died doing what i loved… and tell her… that i know tequila ate matilda's fish—”
tamara blinked.
“...wait, what?”
tori immediately squeezed her eyes shut. “...nothing. ignore the dying woman's final words.”
“no, absolutely not.” tamara sat up straighter on tori's back. “what did you just say?”
“i don't know. i'm being suffocated. my brain isn't getting enough oxygen.”
“tori.”
“i'm hallucinating. i'm seeing my ancestors.”
“tori.”
“...i can hear bagpipes.”
“wrong country.”
“...whatever they play in england.”
“TORI!”
“...i may not survive long enough to answer.”
tamara grabbed both of tori's shoulders and shook her once. “WHAT DID YOU MEAN TEQUILA ATE THE FISH?”
tamara stared at her for another second before finally climbing off her back. “there. you're alive now.” she folded her arms. “explain.”
tori rolled onto her back with another exaggerated gasp filling her lungs as dramatically as possible.
“ah…” she placed a hand over her chest. “the sweet taste of air.”
"the fish."
"...i don't know what you're talking about.”
“you literally just confessed.”
“i was delirious.”
“you weren't delirious.”
“i was being crushed by your ass.”
tamara let out an irritated sigh.
“okay, okay,” tori rubbed a hand over her face. “remember when matilda's fish disappeared last year?”
tamara scooted closer, resting both elbows on the grass beside tori's head.
“yeah? ell said…” she frowned, trying to remember. “...she said they evolved and flew out of the window.”
tori slowly turned to her.
“...tam.”
“...what?”
“...did you actually believe that?”
“i mean…” tamara hesitated for a second.
“tam.”
“maybe?”
tori pinched the bridge of her nose. “seriously?”
tamara immediately frowned.
“what? it sounded possible,” she glared at tori as though she was the unreasonable one here. she honestly didn't understand why she was getting that look.
maybe, in a normal world, the idea of a group of fish suddenly evolving, growing wings, and flying out through matilda's open bedroom window would've sounded completely ridiculous.
unfortunately, they didn't live in anything even remotely resembling a normal world. reality had long since stopped following any recognizable set of rules.
tamara had watched ell turn into a homicidal green slime creature. not only that, there had somehow been an adorable miniature version of her running around afterwards. she had turned into a dragon herself more than once whenever her emotions got out of control.
oh, and they'd even been attacked by a genie.
weird, impossible things had an annoying habit of becoming saturday afternoon inconveniences.
so compared to all of that, ell calmly explaining that matilda's fish had evolved overnight, grown tiny wings, and flown out through the open bedroom window in search of a better life honestly hadn't sounded that ridiculous.
if anything, it had been one of the more believable explanations tamara had heard in recent years.
besides, she didn't know the first thing about fish.
for all she knew, maybe some species really did grow wings under extreme stress.
"...i don't know anything about fish," she mumbled eventually, still sounding slightly defensive. "how was i supposed to know they couldn't do that?”
tori stared at her for a long moment.
she seemed like she wanted to argue, but then she thought about it.
really thought about it.
"...okay," she admitted with a defeated sigh. "in your defense... that honestly wouldn't even crack the top ten weirdest things we've dealt with."
“exactly,” tamara nodded once, looking immensely vindicated.
"don't get cocky." tori pointed a finger at her. "you're still an idiot for believing anything ell says without questioning it."
tamara opened her mouth to protest.
and tori immediately held up a finger. "shut up."
"...i was going to say—"
"no."
tamara huffed dramatically and crossed her arms.
"...fine."
"anyway," tori said, settling more comfortably into the grass, folding one arm behind her head. "here's what actually happened."
she glanced up at the clouds for a moment, trying to remember the details.
"i was home alone that afternoon. ell had gone out to buy groceries, you and matilda were at work.”
“uh-huh,” tamara could already feel herself smiling.
“i was in my room. everything was quiet for a while.” tori hesitated. “then i heard this really weird noise coming from the hallway. i figured tequila knocked something over, so i got up to check.”
“uh-huh.”
“...there was half a fish.”
tamara blinked.
"...and tequila was sitting next to it." another pause. "...with the tail of another fish sticking out of her mouth."
tamara slapped a hand over her mouth.
"she just stared at me." tori shrugged. "completely unbothered. like she'd been caught chewing on a toy instead of committing multiple homicides."
"what did you do?”
“i quietly turned around and went back into my room.”
“...TORI!” tamara let out the most disappointed sigh imaginable. “you should've taken the fish away from her!"
tori gave her a look as though she'd suggested wrestling a bear.
"absolutely not."
"why not?”
"because i enjoy having both of my hands."
she wasn't exaggerating.
for reasons nobody had ever managed to explain, tequila had disliked tori since the day they'd met.
she adored ell, tolerated tamara, occasionally accepted matilda's existence, but tori? tori apparently ranked somewhere between vacuum cleaner and cucumbers. every attempt at petting her had ended with an offended hiss or a swat.
it wasn't as if tori disliked cats.
quite the opposite — she actually thought they were adorable. she'd always stop to pet stray cats if they let her, and she had endless patience for them.
the feeling, unfortunately, rarely seemed to be mutual.
tori had too much energy.
she moved too much, talked too loudly, laughed too hard, and had a habit of invading everyone's personal space without even noticing. dogs absolutely adored that about her. they were usually trying to climb into her lap within minutes of meeting her.
and cats generally took one look at her and collectively decided she was just a bit too much.
tequila had taken it one step further and declared tori her sworn enemy.
tamara snorted suddenly.
"...actually— yeah, she would've killed you,” she admitted after a moment.
"she absolutely would've.”
they looked at each other for a second before both of them started giggling.
"poor matilda," tamara said eventually. "she was genuinely devastated." her smile softened a little.
“i still remember her crying and saying she’d been a terrible fish mum,” tori sighed. “she kept staring at that empty tank for like… a week.”
“she even bought flowers.”
tori covered her face with both hands, cackling. “oh my god, she did!”
"she was absolutely heartbroken."
"she really was."
tamara let out a quiet sigh and glanced down at tori.
she still had both hands covering her face, but she was peeking at tamara through the gaps between her fingers.
and there was a suspicious grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
tamara immediately narrowed her eyes.
she knew that expression.
it was the same smile tori got whenever an idea had already formed in her head and there was absolutely no chance of talking her out of it.
“what?” tamara asked, wincing. “what do you want? what is it?”
there was a small pause, then—
“we could go fishing. after our couch date.”
“fishing?” tamara blinked. “like— what, catching fish?”
“that's usually how it works.”
tamara groaned and covered her face.
“tori, i need you to understand something.”
“what?”
“i don't like water. and i don't even like fish!”
“you don't have to like fish. we're not eating them. nor adopting. we'd throw them back,” tori shrugged.
tamara gasped dramatically.
“...so first we traumatize them by kidnapping… then we release them?” she frowned, folding her arms across her chest. “that's incredibly rude.”
“the fishing part isn't really the point.”
“then what is?”
“sitting next to you for five hours while you complain.”
“...FIVE hours?”
“probably?"
“you're insane. what's even fun about it?”
“you're fun when you're in pain.”
tamara looked genuinely offended.
“that's an insane thing to say to someone you supposedly like.”
tori didn't even look guilty.
“i do like you.”
“you have a funny way of showing it.”
“i also like annoying you.”
tamara narrowed her eyes. “...see? that's the part that concerns me.”
“your reactions are worth it,” tori said with an innocent shrug.
“so your love language is psychological warfare?”
tori pretended to think for a second.
“...a little.”
tamara stared at her with a small frown.
before she could come up with a response, tori reached over, caught her by the cheeks, and pulled her into a quick, firm kiss.
it lasted barely a second and by the time tamara's brain caught up, tori had let go, pushed herself to her feet, and brushed the grass off her jeans as if nothing happened.
"come on."
tamara looked up at her, confused.
"...come on where?"
"we've still got another two hours before the viewpoint."
the smile immediately disappeared from tamara's face, and all the color drained from it. tori could see the exact moment tamara's soul left her body.
"...you're joking."
"nope."
"i thought the picnic was the destination."
"the picnic was a break.”
tamara stared at her for another few seconds, hoping that tori would suddenly grin and admit it was a joke.
she didn't.
"...no."
tori only held out her hand.
“please, no.”
tori wiggled her fingers impatiently.
tamara looked at them with a wince.
she let out the most exhausted sigh of her life before finally taking tori's hand with the expression of someone who'd just been asked to walk toward their execution.
tori pulled her up effortlessly.
tamara immediately wobbled, letting out another pained whine.
“tori… i can't. i really can't.”
tori ignored her and silently walked the few steps back to where they'd abandoned their backpacks.
"what if i just stayed here? people hike here all the time. someone will probably bring me snacks eventually.”
tori didn't interrupt once.
she simply slung her backpack over one shoulder and waited, watching tamara slowly shuffle after her to pick up her bag.
"i hope you know this is deeply damaging our relationship," tamara muttered while struggling to get one arm through one of the straps.
tori walked over with the faintest smile, gently bumping tamara's shoulder with her own, then leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
“you'll survive. you're a brave girl,” she said sweetly.
then she turned around and started walking.
tamara stood there for another few seconds, quietly cursing how unfairly effective that stupid little compliment had been.
“YOU'RE A CUNT!” she called after.
tori only lifted one hand in a lazy wave without looking back.
and despite all her dramatic complaining, tamara adjusted her bag and slowly followed after her.
she was pretty sure she'd follow tori up every stupid mountain on earth.
she'd never tell her that, though.
tori was already unbearable enough.