Oh My God, They Were Roommates!
Sunset could feel every step up the stairs, her backpack getting heavier by the second. It was barely three in the afternoon, but she already felt like falling back into bed. After how well she had done in high school, the exhaustive stress of college was like a fresh slap in the face every other week.
She shuffled her keys around in her coat pocket until she was in front of the apartment door and let herself in. It wasn't impressive, a narrow, L-shaped living room, a tiny kitchen, and two small bedrooms. A far cry from the spacious place Sunset had had to herself before, but unfortunately the assistance she'd been getting then didn't apply anymore once she had graduated.
One of her roommates was already home, as was unmistakable by the noisy backdrop of gunshots and inhuman screeches, intercut by short but colourful curses. Aria's language had been a bit of an annoyance at first, but everything about her mannerisms was now welcome normalcy. She glanced up towards the corner as Sunset came in, as if to confirm which of the girls had gotten home. "Hey," she said curtly, looking back at her game, leaning forward on the couch.
"Hey," Sunset returned, shuffling over to her after leaving her coat and backpack at the door. She dropped onto the couch and pulled her legs up, quietly watching Aria play as she could finally allow herself to give in to the exhaustion a little.
"How was class?" Aria finally asked, when the firefight died down and she had some time to manage her inventory, falling against the backrest with the tension mostly passed.
"Sucked," Sunset muttered. She slid towards her a little, resting her head on Aria's shoulder and letting out a soft sigh. Aria reached up her hand to tussle her hair a little, one of the small affectionate gestures that could mean more than people realised. "How was work?" Aria just grunted in annoyance, marking the end of the exchange for now.
Out of anyone among the Dazzlings, Aria was the last Sunset had expected to become friends with. Technically, she'd been right, Sonata was quick to forgive and forget and Adagio had been practical enough to accept help when Sunset offered it, but Aria had been the most resistant to her offers of friendship. And yet, they had found themselves signing a lease together, and sharing quite a few things since then. And once the walls were down, they found more common ground than expected.
"I'm gonna make food," Sunset announced after a few minutes of resting on Aria's shoulder. She got up and wandered into the narrow kitchen space, rummaging through the drawer of cans and instant cups. She stared at a few of them for a while before trying to recall how much was left in her budget. She pulled out her phone as she walked back into the living room. "New plan, I'm ordering pizza, what do you want?"
"I dunno, ham," Aria said with a shrug, her eyes fixed on the screen as she mowed down insectoid aliens.
"Sour doesn't eat ham."
"What, so I can never have ham again?"
Sunset smirked a little at the indignation and ordered a half-and-half, before leaning her back on Aria's side again, browsing on her phone as a comfortable silence set in again. It was only broken when a key turned in the door, which then flew open and was slammed back shut.
"I am quitting my job!" Sour Sweet said forcefully, leaning in the entrance way to pull herself out of her tall boots, stubbornly struggling without opening the laces because she would 'never manage that perfect bow again'. She walked into the living room with her hands on her hips and looked expectantly at her roommates, before throwing up her hands with a whine. "I had the worst day!"
Sunset knew Sour was exaggerating, and Aria knew it just as well, but she sat upright and set her phone aside, patting her lap. Aria moved her controller aside as Sour came over, lying down across both of them, her legs over Aria's thighs and her head on Sunset's.
"Working fucking sucks! Customers are the worst!" She made big doe eyes and clutched her hands in front of her chest. "Oh hello, I bought this the other day and decided I don't want it. No, I don't have a receipt and I didn't buy it here, but you should let me return it anyway." With a growl, she tensed her hands, like choking the life out of an invisible customer. "You can return back to hell, lady!"
Sunset ran her hand over Sour's hair while Aria absently pat her thigh. She sighed deeply and wrapped an arm around Sunset's waist, cuddling her head closer into her stomach. "I swear, if I didn't need money..."
"Preaching to the choir, babe," Aria said bitterly.
Sunset barely even remembered at what point she had become Sour Sweet's friend. It seemed like from one day to the next, she was just around and kept inviting herself along. Not that she minded, she was good company once you learned to parse her actual mood. And when Sunset started living with Aria, the three of them had ended up as a trio. Though Sour had only been a frequent guest then, until her bridges had burnt.
"I'm hungry," Sour muttered with a pout, leaning into Sunset's hand, since she had absent-mindedly continued to play with her hair.
"I ordered pizza," Sunset said with a reassuring smile.
"I love you," Sour continued in the same tone, before going quiet again.
Sunset leaned back with a smile, her other hand resting on the backrest behind Aria, who turned off her game and rested on Sunset's shoulder, mirroring their earlier position. Sunset could feel her mood improving, having both of them resting on her, all of them sharing in their exhaustion. Sour's words rang back through her head, nestling in before she really started thinking about them.
"Girls... are we... dating?"
She was staring up at the ceiling, but she could feel the others shift to look at her.
"No," Aria said after a moment. "Right? We would know that."
"Yeah, nah, obviously not," Sour confirmed.
Both of them settled against Sunset again. Sour tucked her legs in just a bit so she could squeeze her thighs against Aria's side. After a few seconds, Aria sat back up again. "Okay, wait, are we?" she asked with a hint of agitation.
Sour shuffled, turning on her back a bit more so she could look up at them. "I don't remember us ever going on even a single date, ever. Don't be stupid."
"I mean, we go out almost every weekend," Sunset said thoughtfully.
"Uh, yeah, as roommates! You dumbass!"
Sunset looked down at Sour and lightly pinched her nose for the name-calling, teasing an annoyed noise out of her, though she did stay right where she was.
"And look at us right now," Sunset continued. "I don't know about you, but I'm not this physical with my other friends."
"I guess," Aria said quietly. "I mean, I hug Sonata, but it's barely a choice with her."
"And you," Sunset added, looking down at Sour again, "kept climbing into my bed when you first moved in."
"Only, like, twice," Sour argued, low-balling the number, "and only because Aria snored like a hellhound. Besides, she did it too!"
Aria visibly tensed her shoulders. Neither of them had actually brought up the night terrors to Sour and now wasn't a good time to do that either.
"Right, yeah, me too," she said stiffly.
"I'm just saying, that's a lot of couple stuff," Sunset said, diverting the conversation back.
"Okay, but we're not dating," Sour argued, throwing up her hands a bit. "I had a boyfriend, first of all."
"So did I," Sunset countered, "but none of us do right now."
"Okay, but wouldn't we know, though?" Aria chimed in again. "Like, how do you date someone if you never... agreed to do that?"
"I guess... you spend a lot of time with them? And you're comfortable around them, and understand them well, and give them your support..." Sunset could feel the heat creeping up her neck as she trailed off slowly, one hand still in Sour's hair, the other resting just behind Aria, inches from her shoulders.
They were all quiet again for a moment, before Sour cleared her throat. "Yeah, well, no confessions, so it doesn't count."
"You literally just told Shimmer you love her."
"Uh, yeah, as a roommate, dumb-dumb!" Sour repeated. "She's buying pizza!"
As if on command, the doorbell sounded. Sour climbed off of them so Sunset could get to the door.
"Alright, I think we're gonna need something to drink," Aria decided, getting up to head into the kitchen.
After splitting the pie into six pieces, the three of them had settled around the box on the floor, a mug of cheap wine next to each of them. As Aria had most of the ham half and Sour the vegetarian half, Sunset contented herself with the remaining piece of each. The TV was on in the background and conversation died down while they ate, all of them hungry after work and classes.
"So, if we were dating," Sunset finally picked up again, "it wouldn't have to be too different from how things are now."
Aria shrugged, chewing on the last bits of her share. "Eh, why not. I wouldn't mind some hot girlfriends."
"Well, sorry girls, but I'm pretty sure I'm straight." Sour shrugged and finished off the remains of her last slice. She looked up a few moments later, finding the others staring at her. "What?"
"You ready to put that to the test?" Aria asked flatly.
"What's that even supposed to--" Before she could finish, Sunset had leaned over and forcefully pulled her in by the back of her neck. Sour's startled cry was muffled and she grabbed Sunset's shoulder, but her grip softened almost immediately. As Sunset pulled back, she could feel Sour leaning in, trying to follow her for an inch.
"Okay, uh, that doesn't prove--" Aria grabbed the front of her shirt and yanked her over, pressing her lips to hers. The hand tightened on Sunset's shoulder again. They parted with a soft gasp, the other hand clinging to Aria's shirt, her cheeks flushed. "Yeah, okay..."