Characters: Cass and Zoé Setting: The poolside / Zoé's apartment Summary: Cass and Zoé hang out. That's basically it. Conversation, a little 'tension'. Character dev stuff. Rating: S for sunscreen
Mid-afternoon was a hard time of day for Zoé - she had long since finished her workout at the makeshift aerial studio across the street, and there weren't a lot of people around. Alice and Jed were usually at the meet-ups, along with Jack and Jared, and many of the other residents of the suites were hiding in their rooms away from the heat of the day. She could have napped, or stayed inside to relax as well, but where was the fun in that? So usually the acrobat threw on a bikini and headed down to the pool; she couldn't wait for it to be fixed, but until then she contented herself with acquiring a nice, even tan under the Las Vegas sun.
"Not many plastic surgeons and oncologists left if you give yourself skin cancer."
Cass had finished draining the pool and cleaning it out, but hadn't begun to think about refilling it yet. She'd moved on to other jobs around the apartments - air conditioner maintenance, window cleaning and so on - anything that would keep her busy. Today, however, she had opted, following her usual middle-of-the-day siesta, to get some more recreational excercise, and was now returning across the courtyard from the gym, dressed in loose cargo shorts and a vest, sweat-damp hair pushed back from her face, a towel around her shoulders. She had been more or less invisible from the outside in the dim, cool area of the gym, but she'd noticed Zoé settling down in the sun some time ago and had thus found her legs taking her past where the other woman lay as she made her way back towards her apartment to shower.
Zoé pushed her sunglasses up at the familiar sound of Cass's voice, breaking into a grin as she saw her. "I am invincible," she informed her, throwing out her arms in an extravagant gesture. "The sun cannot hurt me. I survived the virus."
"Wouldn't it be a little sad if you beat a killer virus and die of heatstroke?" Cass asked, moving to perch on one of the other rather dingy recliners that lay dotted around the pool.
"Oui, I suppose so," the acrobat conceded, lying back and stretching her legs out. "That is why you should stay out here with me, to watch so I do not. I give you permission to throw water on me if I am dying - but do not do it before then or I will be mad."
Cass chuckled. "I dunno, I really ought to be showering. I'm kind of disgusting."
Zoé made a face, pushing herself upright and turning to face Cass properly now. She leaned in, eying the other woman, and sniffed the baking air a few times experimentally. "Non, you are not," she said decisively then. "That is a very healthy smell, and not disgusting. It is not even the sweat from sitting in a hot place - it is from working hard. That is good."
Clearing her throat, Cass seemed at something of a loss for how to answer this. Eventually she just shrugged, saying, "Well, I guess I should be glad of that, at least."
"Bien sur! Too many people are afraid to get dirty. You should not be one of them."
"I like to be clean. Gotta fight the filthy trucker stereotype." Cass reached into her pocket for her ever-present water bottle, pouring a little over her head (as Zoé knew by now to be a habit of hers) before taking a long drink.
This made the other woman giggle. "Cass, you are not like a filthy trucker at all. You are a girl, and you are young, and you are pretty, and you are not fat, and you are not smelly," she said, listing them off on her fingers. "And you do not wear hats very much. So you are not anything like a trucker. Not even a little."
"You've never seen my I-heart-NY hat, have you?" the blonde deadpanned.
"No, Cass, you do not really have one..."
"No. Well, I do have a hat. But it says Rocket Scientists Do It On Impulse."
The look Zoé gave could only be described as bemused, as if she knew the slogan was supposed to be funny but didn't quite know why. She gazed at Cass quizzically for a moment longer before smiling and shrugging her bare shoulders. "As long as you do not wear it too much."
"Not a huge amount, no. I get hat-hair."
"Hat-hair?"
"You know..." Cass gestured roughly around her head. "When you wear a hat and it messes your hair up, puts a kink in it."
"Ah, I see. Well, that is a good reason not to wear a silly hat." Zoé turned and reached down to the foot of the lounge chair, grabbing a bottle of sunscreen in one hand. It seemed she was not completely sun-struck, though it was not a particularly high SPF. "Will you help me?" she asked Cass over her shoulder, gesturing with the bottle. "I cannot reach my back."
Cass raised her eyebrows. The idea that, of all people, Zoé was unable to reach her back with sunscreen was not one that she was overly convinced by. Nontheless she stood, reaching a little hesitantly for the bottle of lotion. The acrobat scooted backwards, pulling her hair over her shoulder to expose the skin on her back, which was bare except for the straps of her bikini. "You do not want me to get cancer, do you?" she asked, the grin evident in her voice.
"Shouldn't joke about that sort of thing," Cass murmured a little distractedly, squirting a little of the lotion on the two points of Zoé's shoulder blades and, after another few seconds hesitation, skimming her hands lightly across the brunette's skin to spread the lotion evenly before beginning to rub it in, smoothing systematically across the toned planes of her back.
"I was not joking - I am very glad you are helping me." As if sensing Cass's tentativeness Zoé leaned back into her touch, humming softly in pleasure.
It was hard to say whether the breath that Cass drew in then was a shade deeper than the one before it. Certainly her hands stilled briefly before continuing their methodical work, fingers now greasy with sunscreen slipping lightly across her skin.
"Your shoulders are already a little red. You should be careful. I mean it."
"Do you think I come here too much? I would not, but I do not know what else to do," Zoé sighed.
"You could find an indoor hobby," the other woman suggested. "Maybe a new sport? Martial art?"
The acrobat shrugged, muscles moving under Cass's hands. "I do not like to do things alone. I do not see the reason to do a new sport if it will be only me who is doing it. That is boring."
"I'm sure you could find someone who'd like to join in. Jed, perhaps," Cass added after a moment's thought. Zoé had... not so much confided as mentioned in passing that she and Jed had something of a 'friends with benefits' arrangement at present, information which she treated with the careful studied detachment which, for some reason, she had decided it deserved.
"I cannot think he would like to learn martial arts - he likes the guns too much," Zoé snorted. She noticed Cass had all but covered her back now and instead of moving away stuck out one arm for the other woman to coat. "Besides, I would like to do things to help... if they are not boring. Maybe I will talk to Alice, she is bossy." If the Canadian meant any insult by that she didn't show it. "She will know something I can do."
"I dunno, I think Alice is a lot more unsure than she might come across," Cass spoke without thinking, and she qualified a moment later. "Well, I mean, I don't know her that well. I'm sure she'd have some ideas - you should talk to her. Maybe you could help her with the plans for the greenhouse." If Cass noticed that she was now spreading sunscreen across areas that Zoé was most deinitely capable of reaching by herself, she chose not to comment on it, only obediently putting out her hand for the Quebecois to squirt a little more lotion on her palm.
"It would be nice to work outside," Zoé replied thoughtfully, tipping her head to one side. "I will ask."
"Mhm..." Cass pursed her lips in thought, her mind running to the logistics of setting up the greenhouse. She was hoping that they'd be able to make it a large construction with built-in irrigation, which was going to take some planning. Zoé's skin was warm and firm beneath her hands, now glistening with the sunscreen from shoulder to fingertip.
The young woman shifted, fingers sliding through Cass's as she turned to offer her other arm for sunscreening. "Cass?" she asked, looking up thoughtfully at the other woman.
"Mhm?"
"Will you eat dinner with me tonight?"
"Uh..." Cass looked to her hands, reaching carefully for the sunscreen again. "Sure. You remember I eat pretty late these days? I mean, not that it matters, much," she added. "I can adapt."
"I will eat anytime, I do not mind. You can come to my room when you are ready and I will make something then, t'sais? Since we cannot go out to eat anymore," she added with a rueful grin.
"Right. I mean, okay. That'd be great." Cass turned her attention once more to Zoé's skin. She realised now that she was beginning to feel a growing heat in her own shoulders. Better get out of the sun myself...
"Bien! Then it is a date."
She had caught the sun. Cass pursed her lips at her reflection in the mirror, frowning critically at the slight flush across the skin of her shoulders, running a finger across the pale line left by her vest straps, watching the flesh around it turn white and then slowly back to red at the pressure.
Zoé's probably a golden brown by now. Cass rolled her eyes at her reflection. She didn't tan, but she did freckle a little, her cheeks lightly sprinkled and permantly just slightly pink. There was only so much sunscreen could do. Still, it was probably just as well, otherwise the other woman would almost certainly have noticed the slight flush to her face earlier that day. She had felt herself blush as she coated the acrobat's arms with sunscreen, somehow that much more intimate than her back, perhaps because of the way she felt the muscles twitch slightly when she tickled slightly, or the way the other woman had laced their fingers together briefly as they broke contact.
Cass swallowed, her eyes casting a glance over her own body now, noting the physical reaction to the memory to go along with the unmistakable tug in her stomach. She clenched her jaw, and shook her head sternly at herself. Out of the question.
She was dressed in a light long sleeved teeshirt and, unusually, a well-fitting pair of faded jeans (rather than her usual cargo pants), feet still bare, hair dry but hanging in soft layers around her face, feathery from its recent wash, when she knocked on Zoe's door at around eight that evening.
"Entrez! It is open!" Upon entering the room it seemed at first that Cass was alone - the illusion only spoiled when Zoé stuck her head out of the bedroom, grinning. "I will only be a moment - you can sit down."
Cass shot her a smile that she hoped didn't look as nervous as she suddenly felt, but Zoé had already disappeared once more.
"Something smells nice," the blonde commented, skirting round the table, dithering before choosing a seat. "Did you order in?" she added in a teasing tone.
"Non, I have made something special," came the reply from the other room. "I am not hopeless - I can cook a very few things. I hope you will like it."
"I'm sure I will."
After several minutes' wait Zoé finally emerged from the bedroom; she was wearing a green-print summer dress which had no doubt been chosen after a long and arduous battle which left the other clothing options strewn around the floor in defeat. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, her feet bare (as was her usual habit). She grinned at Cass, padding over to the kitchenette to check on the pot currently simmering away on the stove. "It is almost done," she announced. "Would you like a drink?"
"Sure. What do you have?"
"I have red wine."
"Red wine sounds great." Cass adjusted her seat a little, clearing her throat.
"D'accord." Two glasses and a bottle of wine soon appeared on the table in front of Cass; Zoé perched on a chair as she gestured for the other woman to pour. "Did you have a good afternoon? And evening, I guess. It is almost night."
Cass smiled a little. "I showered, then did some reading," she said with a slight shrug.
"What did you read?" asked the performer curiously.
"Foucault's Pendulum."
"Do you like it?"
A slight smirk crept across the blonde's face. "Not really. But I've been meaning to read it for years, so."
Zoé raised her eyebrows, seemingly surprised. "Why are you reading it if you do not like it? I do not understand."
"Because it contains ideas that interest me, and because I always meant to, and now there's really no excuse. You don't ever do something because you know you should rather than because you want to?"
"Perhaps, but not very often."
"Well, so do I, sometimes."
Zoé wrinkled her nose, looking adorably perturbed. "If that is how you like to spend your time."
Cass shrugged a little. "Well, there's plenty of it. You're the one looking for new hobbies." She raised her eyebrows.
"I would rather have a hobby that is with other people," the acrobat said, pursing her lips. "Reading is very alone. Even if there is a lot of time now, why would you want to be alone for it?"
"Sometimes I like to be alone."
"I am glad it is not always," Zoe said with a smile, reaching over to place a hand on Cass's arm. "I would miss you."
Cass blinked a little, looking as close as she ever got to confused for a moment. Although she felt that Zoé and she were friends, and had some confidence that the other woman shared this opinion, it was a strange thought for her that someone would 'miss' her. She was used to thinking of herself as someone who was handy to have around, but by no means necessary, to anyone.
"Um... thanks," she said eventually, trying to convey at least some measure of the genuine sincerity she felt along with the slight discomfort.
Zoe smiled in response, then gave the other woman's arm a squeeze before hopping up to cross over to the kitchen. "Dinner is ready!" she chirped, pulling several bowls out of the cupboard.
"Can I help?"
"No, just stay tight!"
Smiling a little at the slight verbal misstep, Cass settled back down in her chair, looking to the cutlery that was laid out on the table and adjusting it slightly for something to do with her hands while she waited.
Eventually Zoe brought over two bowls of hot, slightly spicy-smelling stew, setting one down in front of Cass with a flourish. "Et voila!"
"Smells amazing," Cass said with a smile, lifting her fork. "I see you've been branching out from your usual diet of twinkies and spaghetti Os," she teased gently.
"I have told you, I am not hopeless," Zoe said with a mock-scowl as she sat down. "But I do not see the point to cook for just me. I will only do it for special occasions."
"Perhaps you could combine your wish to spend time with people, your desire for a way to pass the time, and my desire to see you eat more healthiliy by cooking for other people more often, then." The other woman's smile widened a little to a grin.
Zoe bit her lip thoughtfully, considering this. "Maybe... But I will not give up the twinkies."
"Perhaps that's wise - one day soon they may be all that's left."
"And then you will not be so easy to judge them!" came the triumphant reply.
The blonde chuckled, spearing a piece of meat from her bowl and taking a bite from it, her mind wandering.
Zoe had only had frozen, dried and canned food to work with, obviously, but she had managed to season the lamb, chickpeas and tomato base well enough that the limitations of the ingredients were not noticeable. She herself had dug in hungrily and was already halfway through her meal by now. Cass ate a little more slowly, savouring the simple but wholesome food.
"I think I would read more if the books were in French," Zoe said then, obviously voicing the end of her train of thought. "I do not read very fast in English, but I cannot find any books in French, t'sais?"
The other woman raised her eyebrows. "I suppose that would be an issue," she said carefully, her mind immediately running to the various places she'd be likely to find books in French. She fought the urge to smile as quite a few potential locations (which Zoé clearly had not thought to check) came to mind, but she said nothing. Guess I now have a plan for tomorrow morning...
The rest of the meal passed uneventfully - Zoe had urged Cass to have seconds, refilling her own bowl with another helping and devouring it just as quickly as the first. Though Cass certainly hadn't intended to, somehow she found herself tipping the last of the wine into her glass before settling down on the couch at Zoe's insistence. The performer moved the dirty dishes to the sink before coming to sit down next to her, her own half-full glass cupped in one hand. "Bien, now it is time to relax," she said, scooting closer until her thigh was pressed along Cass's. "Do you want to watch TV?"
Hoping she didn't look quite as out of water as she felt, Cass gave her best attempt at an easy shrug, and nodded. "Sure." She fought the urge to shift uneasily, consciously relaxing her muscles in the way she would when her body began to stiffen up from hours of driving.
She knew that Zoé and she had very different personalities, and very different senses of personal space, different needs regarding physical contact and comfort. She wasn't un-empathic, and knew that the acrobat had always made an effort to meet Cass in the middle on this, to be sensitive to her more stand-offish countenance. It was the least Cass could do to show the same consideration. After all, would it kill you to sit close on the couch?
She inhaled, and thought she caught the slight memory of the scent of sunscreen still lingering on Zoé's skin from earlier that day. Sensations rushed back with the smell, long-unused muscles suddenly clenching in a way that made her catch her breath rather quickly. You're like a sixteen year old boy. Get a grip.
Zoe reached for the remote and flipped the TV and DVD player on, the television screen flickering to life with the image of a rich, vividly-shot underwater scene. A poshly-accented man's voice narrated the action; Zoe squirmed a bit in her seat. "We do not have to watch this," she said, sounding almost embarrassed. "It is just something I like to watch when I am alone. It is very pretty."
"It's The Blue Planet, right?" Cass asked, sitting forward a little and casting Zoé a sidelong smile. "I remember it on the Discovery Channel, it's fantastic. Must be nearly ten years ago now."
"Oui, it belonged to one of my roommates. She said she always wanted to go for a snorkel swim by the coral reefs," Zoe said with a wistful smile.
Cass returned the smile, her expression sympathetic. She was thankful, in many ways, that she had had no close friends to lose when the virus had hit, but it was beginning to feel like it had created a gap between her and almost everyone else left on the planet that was proving hard to bridge. She cleared her throat. "We could take it to the cinema sometime, if you liked," she suggested, feeling very much as though she might be missing the point, but keen to fill the silence. "I might even be able to find it on Blu-Ray somewhere."
"That would be tres sympa!" Zoe exclaimed, the slight dip in her mood already past. "It would look very good on a cinema screen."
"You might find that there are some creatures of the deep you don't want to see quite that large..." Cass warned in a teasing tone. The younger woman gave a shriek and crowded closer, slipping one hand in the crook of Cass's arm. The blonde almost started, slightly surprised by the over-the-top reaction, but to her credit she didn't react, only settling back down on the couch. "I see you've started to decorate," she commented, glancing around the walls, which Zoé had begun to cover with hangings and pictures, though they were far from as busy as her old apartment.
"Oui," Zoe said settling happily into a comfortable position againt Cass. "This is my home now, so I want it to look nice. What have ypu done for your place?"
Cass chuckled quietly. "I acquired a bookshelf. That's about it," she confessed.
"Well, at least you will have a place to put all your boring books," the younger woman said with a grin. "But you do not want other decorations? Or maybe to paint things!"
"I'm kind of okay with it the way it is," came the answer, accompanied by another good-natured shrug. "I did think about the paint thing, though - for you, actually. Figured I could pick up some pots of interesting colours when I was next in the right sort of place. I mean, if you liked."
"Oui, I would very much like that - if you will help me," Zoe qualified. "I think I will make a mess all alone."
"Well, that's what masking tape's for. I'm sure I could be convinced to help."
"I will cook for you again..."
"I suppose one can never have too much stew..."
Zoe grinned. "Exactement." Just then a large and hungry-looking shark swam onto the screen, causing her to crowd closer to Cass, clutching her wine glass close. Though the flat screen televisions in the rooms at the suites were quite large, the move still struck Cass as a little unneccessary, but she remained relaxed. She likes to be close to people - all people. We'd be 'cuddling' if she thought I'd be okay with it. And who's blaming her? It must be pretty lonely for someone like Zoé. She almost felt a twinge of guilt at the fact that she probably didn't provide the contact that Zoé really wanted from a friend, but then she remembered Jed, and her brow furrowed slightly of its own accord. She hoped that she just looked intent on the screen in front of her.
They stayed that way for some time - Cass sitting up straight next to the arm of the sofa, Zoe nestling as close as she dared without causing the other woman to shift away. Eventually, Cass shifted a little, but it was only to retrieve her water bottle from the side table where she'd left it (without a pocket on her leg in which to store it in her current pants) and take a small sip, offering it to Zoé, who declined. Otherwise, nobody moved or spoke until the end credits of the DVD rolled.
The acrobat, whose silence had been impressive given her usual loquaitiousness, sat up a bit and yawned. "C'est tout."
"Indeed."
"Are you going home now?"
Cass seemed a little surprised at the question - she had become quite used to 'going with the flow' where Zoé was concerned, very much letting her call the shots and decide when an evening ended.
"I could," she offered.
"I have more DVDs."
"And all the time in the world to watch them," Cass countered, tipping her head to look sidelong at Zoé, a tiny smile playing across her lips.
"Does that mean you do not want to stay and watch them now?" Zoé asked, her tone and expression unreadable.
"I have nowhere to be," Cass said with another easy shrug. "But I suppose it would depend on what you wanted to watch. You wouldn't rather go for a walk or something?"
The acrobat stretched her arms over her head, then ran her fingers through her hair, combing out the loose tangles that had formed over the past hour. "Do I have to wear shoes?"
Cass shrugged. "On your own head be it if you get broken glass in your feet."
"No, silly, it will not be on my head, it will be in my feet..."