Characters: Cass and Zoé Setting: The warehouse/garage/practice space/thingy, Zoé's apartment. Summary: Zoé and Cass's Facebook status remains Complicated.
Capoeira lessons hadn't lasted long - one session, in fact, after which Cass informed Zoé that maybe capoeira 'wasn't for her'. The acrobat was disappointed, as she had been looking forward to having a partner to practice with, but she perked up soon enough when Cass suggested they try another activity instead. It didn't take them long to settle on kickboxing, though Zoé was far from an expert on the sport like she was on others. She was happy to give it a try, though, and the first few practices went well enough for it to become a regular 'thing' every few days.
Though there was no disguising Cass's slight discomfort with close proximity to the almost forcefully sensual and tactile Quebecois, her attitude toward contact sports seemed rather different, and the pair had formed an easy rapport. Their particular brand of kickboxing, heavily informed by Zoé's knowledge of other martial arts, was beginning to evolve into a sort of fusion style of its own, incorporating concepts and moves from other disciplines. This creativity and innovation delighted Zoé, and Cass in turn found that it did lend an extra element of interest.
Currently they were sparring in the makeshift ring they had set up in Zoé's 'studio' across the street from the suites, gloved and wearing the appropriate protective gear for safety's sake. Zoé was fast and hard to hit, but she was also distractable, which gave Cass plenty of opportunities to divert her attention elsewhere and land as many punches as she got. After one particularly good cross-and-jab combination from the trucker Zoé laughed and shook her head to clear it before bouncing backward to deliver a side kick aimed at Cass's midsection.
It hit square where it was meant to and Cass went flying, one second upright and the other lying flat on her back. For a moment she didn't move and Zoé feared that perhaps she'd managed to injure the other woman, but then, surprisingly, she heard a warm chuckle.
"What is so funny?" the performer asked curiously, moving forward to offer Cass a hand up. She realized belatedly that their gloves might make this maneuver difficult and crooked an elbow instead, leaning in.
Cass opened her mouth to answer, but then, just a split-second too late, Zoé spotted a mischievous glint in her eye, and felt one of her feet being kicked out from beneath her. Though she could no doubt have regained her feet quite handily Cass was prepared for that and a blow to her shoulder soon saw her only course of action to find herself flat on her own back beside the blonde.
"That is. Among other things."
"Cass! That is cheating!" Zoé exclaimed, though she sounded more amused by the concept than appalled. Propping herself up on elbow she leaned forward to poke Cass in the side with her glove. "That was not very fair play."
"You said I should be more spontaneous."
"Oui, I did, but..." After spending several seconds trying to figure out a rationale why this was not what she had meant, Zoé gave up on trying to chastise the other woman and instead flopped back down on her back, using the back of her glove to brush the stray hairs from her forehead. "This is fun."
"Mhm." Cass knew that Zoé didn't mean lying on their backs, staring at the rafters above them. Following weeks where she'd become increasingly uncomfortable in the younger woman's company, their encounters in recent days were a welcome respite. She had grown tired of keeping her inconvenient, attention staved sex-drive suppressed in the face of Zoé's wilfull indulgence of her own, but it seemed to Cass that this new passtime had gone a long way toward sidelining that tension altogether.
Whether Zoé was enjoying the lessening of tensions remained to be seen, though she seemed just as happy to express herself physically through punches and kicks as she did through hugs and kisses. "Tonight will you like to watch a movie with me?" she asked, turning to look at Cass once more.
"I'm actually going to be giving Luc a break for the evening," she said. "The-... Gill was awake for a little while again today." The smile was evident in Cass's voice even if Zoé hadn't been looking at her.
"Oh." Zoé wasn't used to being turned down, especially not by Cass. She looked perturbed by the turn of events. Especially the fact that she was being turned down in favor of a coma patient - surely she was more exciting than some invalid in a bed! "Then I can come too," she decided then. "And we will all watch a movie."
"I... don't know if that's the best plan," Cass said. "It's a lovely thought, but she's probably still a little fragile for multiple visitors and high-stimulus media." She turned her head a bit to smile apologetically at Zoé. Then she tried, "Look, you know I'm always up late, I can easily come by after if you won't be asleep, or..." Otherwise engaged. All right, so the fact that Zoé was sleeping with other people - person, whatever, Cass wasn't even sure at this point - still rankled slightly.
Fine, if Cass would rather spend time with some boring old woman instead of her then Zoé could amuse herself. It wasn't as if there weren't other people who would be just as fun - or more so - to spend an evening with. "Peut-etre," she said with a dismissive shrug, pushing herself into a sitting position and contemplating the lacing on her gloves studiously.
Cass frowned slightly, realising that she'd said the wrong thing. But there's no reason why I should be on-call all day and night...
Apparently deciding that to acknowledge Zoé's irritation would only legitimise it, Cass instead stood, bouncing a couple of times on the balls of her feet. "Are we going again?" she asked brightly.
However annoyed she might be Zoé never passed up a chance to exercise, and she got to her feet begrudgingly, turning to face Cass. "D'accord. I am ready."
It was after midnight when Cass left the surgery. Gill had been intermittently awake but not terribly talkative, but Cass had been keen to see Luc get some proper rest before he spent the night by the patient's bedside. Though he would theoretically sleep, she knew that it would be more like fitful dozing, and he would feel better for the few hours' respite she'd given him. Making her way up toward her room using the outside balconies of the building, Cass almost reconsidered her decision of earlier that evening to detour past Zoé's apartment. What if Zoe wasn't there? Or worse, was, but wasn't alone? She had accidentally overheard that scenario once before and had no wish to do so again.
If her lights are on and I can't hear any talking... or anything else... then I'll knock and see, she decided, diverting her course to find the acrobat's door.
Despite her earlier vow to spend the evening with someone - if only to prove that she had other friends besides Cass - Zoé had ended up staying in and moping. Everyone else had seemed to be busy or absent when she went to find them, and that only served to make her grumpier. After painting her nails to try and cheer herself up had failed she had put on a movie and flopped on the couch to watch it, though she didn't really pay it much attention in the end. When the knock came at the door she hopped up eagerly, hoping perhaps that someone had come by to at least say goodnight.
"Oh. Cass. It is you." The performer crossed her arms over her chest, standing square in the doorway. "I thought you were busy."
"I was," Cass said with an easy shrug. "And now I'm not. I figured I'd see if you still wanted to watch a movie."
"I am watching one now," Zoé replied, her hesitation clear before she relented and took a small step back. "You can come in if you would like."
Shooting her a characteristically slight smile, Cass did as she was invited, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a plastic bag as Zoé closed the door behind her. "I swiped you some Haribo," she offered.
The acrobat accepted the bag without a word, though there was quite a lot of crinkling as she ripped it open and pulled out a few pieces of soft gummy candy to nibble on as they both crossed the room towards the couch. A glance at the television told Cass that Zoé had been in the middle of watching Amélie, the actress's telltale cherubic face peering out from the screen. "Do you want some?" Zoé offered as they sat.
With another of those half-smiles, Cass shook her head. "Thanks, I'm okay." She settled down on the couch next to Zoé, determinedly casual in demeanor. I have nothing to apologise for. And, damnit, I'm in a decent mood and plan to stay that way.
It seemed Zoé wasn't going to let her off completely, as she pressed the 'Play' button and then turned to face the blonde woman. "Did you have fun?" she asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.
Cass looked slightly amused. "I wouldn't call it fun exactly. But I guess I had a nice relaxing time, sure."
"What did you do?"
"Uh... talked a little, read some."
"That is all?" Despite the fact that sometimes most of what she and Cass did consisted of 'talking a little, watching a movie', Zoé thought this other woman seemed much more boring. She couldn't be that big a draw if that was all they did in each other's company. "I see."
"She's not awake much," Cass said by way of explanation. "I was mostly giving Luc a break - I told you." Cass frowned slightly - this was not a conversation she'd been planning to have.
"I know." Zoé shrugged and fished out another Haribo snack to bite apart. "D'accord." She thought about making a remark about the grumpy doctor needing as much sleep as he could get, but she knew Cass didn't like it when she said snarky things like that about people.
Cass settled down in the couch, turning toward the film. She wasn't tired, and although she'd seen Amelie before she found it quite pleasant, as French romantic comedies went. Hopefully they might yet have a nice evening.
It seemed Cass had been 'forgiven', or at least given a reprieve, and it wasn't long until Zoé was scooting closer in her habitual attempt to get as near to the other woman as she could before Cass became mildly uncomfortable. Sighing a little, Cass nonetheless lifted her arm to rest it along the back of the couch, letting Zoé lean against her. There was no doubt that it was nice to be able to enjoy that physical proximity, their daytime sparring having exorcised a little of Cass's pent-up frustration, allowing her to relax a little.
Enjoying the widening of their boundaries, Zoé wriggled closer, one hand sliding craftily to Cass's knee. It was clear what her ultimate goal was, though she was expecting to be brought up short at any moment and had made her peace with that fact. To her mild surprise, the older woman simply relaxed a little further on the couch, rolling her shoulders back against it to get comfortable. She was so shocked by this turn of events that they sat for some time like that with the movie unfolding in front of them before she tipped her head up, nuzzling Cass's neck and letting her lips linger on the sensitive skin there.
This certainly got a reaction. Cass pulled in a breath - quietly, but sharply enough that Zoé heard it, and she shifted slightly, pulling back far enough to turn her head and meet the other woman's eyes. Her own held uncertainty, but Zoé could see no panic or irritation in them.
"I am glad you came here tonight," the younger woman murmured, her hand tracing patterns lightly on Cass's knee.
Cass nodded a little, smiling faintly. "Well, I wasn't tired, I figured I'd see if you were up," she said, knowing how inane such conversation was but apparently happy to indulge Zoé for now.
"It is good you did. I would be sad to not see you." With her free hand Zoé reached up to brush a stray lock of hair away from Cass's cheek. "But now I am not."
"Well, good," Cass murmured. "I like seeing people happy. Not a lot else going for us, these days." Her own words seemed to resonate with her, here. She knew that if she didn't make some sign of discomfort, Zoé was almost certainly about to kiss her, and she also knew that she'd planned to let her. But maybe all this passivity is what's so depressing. Maybe I'm worried about losing control because I'm refusing to take control.
Cass hesitated another moment, her eyes scanning the other woman's face, but then she leaned across and pressed her lips gently to Zoé's. For the second time that night the performer was shocked into inactivity, though this time only for a moment, and she soon rallied to eagerly kiss Cass back, tilting her head and closing her eyes with a smile, her hand working its way around the back of Cass's neck as the kiss continued. She tasted sweet, like the candy she had just consumed, her fingers just slightly sticky against the other woman's skin, and Cass found herself smiling a little, but a few long moments later she pulled gently back. "Film's finished," she commented quietly.
"Oui, it has," Zoé agreed, not shifting from her position pressed close to Cass. "But you do not have to go yet..."
"It's getting late."
"But you have not been here very long. Stay," she implored the other woman. Looking up at her, Zoé decided that perhaps slow and steady might yet be the way to play it, so she gave a small smile, stroking her fingers over the back of Cass's neck. "But you are right, it is late. We will have to go to sleep, t'sais? That is all."
Sitting up a little, Cass reached behind her to retrieve Zoé's hands, though she didn't let go of them. She said nothing for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Eventually, she nodded. "That would be nice."
"Bien." Zoé's smile widened as she slid her legs off the sofa and stood, tugging Cass with her. "Then let us go to bed."