It's Always Snowy in Manehattan

Morning!

Each time we wake up, we are resurrected, rejuveniled, restored to our senses. Aren’t we? Nocturnal gives way to sunrisish. Scary gives way to simple. Distortion gives way to clarity. Doesn’t it?

“That stupid fucking cunt!”

A dish flew right into the wall. Frederic didn’t even wince, sipping on his Earl Grey calmly.

“That whore, that bloody kurwa!”

Frederic did wince at the word spoken in his native language - or, rather, because the tea was a tad hot. “Bea, calm down.”

“Calm down? Calm down?!” Another dish smacked against the wall. “I will not calm down! Freddie, she bloody fucking played me!” And the tea cup flew with it. “I loved her, all this time, and she- she, the bloody bitch, she is fucking some other girl!”

“Don’t you love me?” Frederic asked, blowing on the tea.

Beatrice sighed. “I love you, Freddie.” As if to prove her words, she approached the man and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you as a friend with whom I have sex occasionally. But with her it was… different.” She sighed again. “Ah. Sorry that you had to listen to my laments. Say,” she asked, “how about we go for a roll later today?”

Frederic took a look at his watch. “I have a rehearsal at twelve. At two, I’m playing chess till four. After that, I’m free.” He raised his head calmly.

“Oh!” Beatrice exclaimed angrily. “By gods, Freddie, I understand that you’re super-organised and stuff, but I am frustrated here! Can’t we, you know, now?, now that you and me are here anyway?”

“All right.” Frederic sighed and looked at the watch again. “Let me finish my tea.”

***

“Yes, but do you like bananas?”

Octavia furrowed her brow, taking in the scent of her coffee. “Vinyl, something tells me this is a trick question.”

Vinyl took a sip of her tea. “Nah, it’s just, you know? Do you like bananas?”

Octavia frowned, eyeing her poker-faced lover cautiously. “I guess… I guess I can eat a banana now and then, yes.” She reached over the table to lightly stroke Vinyl’s cheek.

The DJ put her hand on the finger. “Mmm. Getting bolder, Octavia?” She tickled the back of the cellist’s soft, small hand.

Octavia blushed, taking a look around. It wasn’t like the coffee shop was empty, but no one seemed to notice the little gesture of affection. Or, maybe, they did notice, but didn’t pay attention. Because, Octavia assumed, women are allowed a little frivolity. After all, we haven’t done anything that just two close female friends won’t do, so I’m safe. ...Apart from sex, that is. “Shut ye mouth, Vinyl,” she dropped light-heartedly.

Vinyl looked boldly into Octavia’s eyes and leant in over the table. “You liked my mouth wide open last night.” With a laugh, she let go of the cellist’s hand.

Words could not describe Octavia’s embarrassment. “Ack, ye little-!”

“Why do you have a Scotch accent?” Vinyl asked suddenly.

Octavia averted her eyes. “It’s not something I’d like to talk about.” She cast a glance at her lover’s plate. “Vinyl. I think you should cut down on the cake.”

“Mmhm?” Vinyl asked, her mouth full.

“You’re chubby,” Octavia explained with a grin. “A very chubby deejay. Your tummy is the softest thing ever.”

“Har, har.” Vinyl gulped down the sweetness. “Look at the little miss cellist who’s here to educate me.”

“I’m older than you,” Octavia remarked. “I have all the rights to educate you.”

“Bullshit,” Vinyl replied good-heartedly. “You’re twenty-three, tops.”

“I’m twenty-seven.” Octavia looked hurt.

“You are what?” Vinyl almost did a spit-take on her tea.

“Twenty-seven,” Octavia confirmed. She smiled. “What’s wrong, Vinyl?”

“Damn.” Vinyl looked at the half-eaten cake in contemplation. “Damn. I’ve been sleeping with an antiquity.”

Octavia opened her mouth and took a deep breath, contemplating whether to unleash her righteous fury at the stupid woman; but calmed down, looking at the corners of Vinyl’s lips that were slowly rising, and offered a smile herself. “Ha. Ha ha. You are ever so funny, miss chubby deejay.”

“I’m not chubby,” Vinyl protested weakly, looking at the cake longingly.

“Yes, you are,” Octavia replied, sipping on her coffee. “Very chubby, in fact. When you were, uhm.” She took a brief look around. “When you were on top of me last night,” she whispered, “you almost squished me into a thin pancake.”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“You want to start an argument?” Vinyl’s eyes shone with excitement. Our first argument as lovers! “Peter Capaldi is the best Doctor.”

“What?!” Octavia felt ready to throw the coffee cup at the offending lover. “David Tennant is obviously the best Doctor.”

“That,” Vinyl countered, “is just because you want to get in his pants.”

“I only want to get in your pants!”

“…”

Vinyl blinked. Octavia was breathing heavily. The patrons took quick glances at the pair and returned to their coffee and tea. Vinyl felt her cheeks rosing. Octavia’s cheeks were already pink. “Octavia… You. You did mean what you-”

“Yes.” Octavia exhaled and hung her head. “Yes, Vinyl, I. I meant what I said. I guess I just… I just want to love you, and only you. No other wo… person.”

Vinyl fell silent for a moment. “Octavia,” she said finally. “Can I kiss you? Right now?”

“No,” Octavia turned her down softly. “Not here. Not in public.”

Vinyl leant in again, with a grin this time. “Tell me something dirty.”

“What?” Octavia raised her brow at the surprising request. “You mean, like…”

“I mean,” Vinyl said, licking her lips, “tell me something dirty. Something you would like me to do to you once we get to your flat.”

“Why don’t we go to your flat this time?” Octavia suggested, not exactly believing what her lover had just asked of her, or, rather, contemplating whether to follow her plea or not.

“There’s Nini there,” Vinyl explained. “Neon, my brother. He’ll be there so we can’t have sex.”

Octavia looked around again at the loud mentioning of the unspeakable. “Uhm. You think he-?”

“He’s a simple man.” Vinyl shrugged. “He sees two women having sex, he masturbates.”

“Eww.” Octavia sighed. “All right then. My place it is.”

“So,” Vinyl didn’t give up, “what would you like to do to me at your place, mmm?” She licked her lips suggestively. “Come on, Octavia, don’t you wanna do something dirty, mmm?”

“Oh yes.” Octavia looked boldly into Vinyl’s eyes, making the deejay flinch for a moment under the Gaze she loved and feared so much. “In fact, I do…” The cellist dropped her voice to a whisper, partly to be cautious, partly to sound sultry. “I want to drag you home…” She took the strawberry off the cake and put it into her mouth, sucking on it. Vinyl gulped. “I want to get you into the shower…” She bit on the strawberry slightly. Vinyl’s mouth opened slightly. “I want to turn off the warm water and enter the cubicle with you…” Vinyl drooled a little. Octavia raised her voice. “And I want to wash you. With soap. Gods, you are smelly.” With that, she jingled with laughter victoriously.

Vinyl gritted her teeth and facepalmed. “I knew. I knew that you would do something like…” She sighed. “That’s why I have trust issues.” The DJ looked out of the window and sighed. “When will the damn snow end? It seems like it’s been snowing for weeks already.” A few moments were spent in silence.

The fine coffee establishment was located in an old building situated on the Mane, second floor. Respectfully, the architect must have been sleeping off in university, for the solution to place the coffee shop on the second floor of the building that had no first floor in the first place seems to us rather unreasonable. If the esteemed guests would care to follow us to…

“Would you like to know what I’d do to you?” Vinyl wiggled her eyebrow. “Mmm? Would my naughty Octy like to know what I’d love to do to her, mm?”

“Naughty… What did you call me?” Octavia blinked. Octavia blushed. Blushy Octavia blink blinked.

“Octy,” confident Vinyl confirmed confidently, with confidence. “When you’re feeling naughty, I’ll be calling you ‘Octy’. Isn’t that neat?”

“That’s…” Not neat. “I am not… naughty.” At the moment.

“Yes you are. I can see it in your eyes. You wanna know what I’m gonna do to you, Octy?”

“Don’t call me that…”

“I’m gonna drag you to the toilet, Octy, right to this toilet over there…”

“Vinyl, not so lo-”

“I’m gonna drag you there, Octy, and I’m gonna lock the door. And you wanna know what I’m gonna do when we’re there?”

“Vinyl, don’t test my patience…”

“Oh, baby, I know you just can’t get angry at me. Lemme tell you what I’m gonna do to you there. I’m gonna **** you there and **** you and then I’ll **** your **** till you scream my name so loud that all the patrons in this cafe will hear it.”

“Vinyl!” Glare.

“Octy…” Gulp. “Uh. Sorry. I forgot that you’re… afraid of… public… stuff.”

“...”

“Sorry, Octavia.”

“I am appalled by your language, Vinyl.”

“Sorry, Octavia…”

“However…”

“Yes?”

“I never said no.”