Work Text:
July 9th, 1970
“You seem lonely.”
The soft words, barely floating over the breeze, stirred Mathilda from her thoughts. She glanced over her shoulder, lips curling into a smile.
It was Coraline, the always-charming witch that Mathilda’s old dorm-mate had introduced her to.
The woman joined her, sitting beside her and letting her legs dangle over the roof’s ledge perilously.
“I’m alone,” Mathilda agreed, “or I was, at least. But I wasn’t lonely.”
Cora accepted this with a nod, elegant braids swaying with the motion. “Do you want to be alone?”
Did she? Mathilda considered this for a long moment, the faint sound of cicadas singing and Cora’s heartbeat filling the silence.
The witch’s presence alone was calming, the earthy scent of her herbs clinging to her like a veil. She didn’t want her to leave.
“No,” she finally murmured. “I appreciate your company.”
Coraline smiled at that, dangling legs absently kicking; slow, as though she was paddling underwater. “I appreciate yours,” she said. “What were you thinking about?”
Mathilda shrugged slightly, shaking her head with a soft huff of laughter. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” Coraline focused on Mathilda, gaze almost too intense, “and it should matter to you, too. Come on.”
She faltered, unsure of where to even begin. She kept most of her thoughts to herself, swept up in her own ideas as the world and her peers moved on without her. Having to share them with someone who’d actually bother to listen felt like a foreign concept.
“I was thinking about life,” she began, voice careful. “I was thinking about everything I’ve seen. How I’d like to see more, you know? There’s so much I want to do.”
Cora didn’t respond right away; instead, she reached out and gently took Mathilda’s hand in her own.
“You will,” she assured. “I believe it. You’ve got all the time in the world.”
Mathilda let out another faint laugh, nodding in agreement. “I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I am.” Coraline waggled her eyebrows at her, a mischievous smirk on her lips. “Mathilda. Daisy. I know you can do anything you set your mind to, alright? You need to trust yourself.”
Emotions swelled in her chest, butterflies practically suffocating her. She wiped at her eyes with her free hand, turning her face away from Cora in embarrassment. “Sorry,” she managed, voice tight, “I’m - i’m really sorry. It’s just nice to hear it.”
Coraline looked concerned, giving Mathilda’s hand a firm squeeze. “It’s okay,” she said softly, “you deserve it, okay? I just want the best for you.”
She took a rasping breath, a few tears slipping free to roll down her cool cheeks.
Delphine always believed in her, but somehow, this was different. A small part of Mathilda would always wonder if Del’s whole-hearted faith in her was nothing more than the blood binding them together.
But she was positive that Coraline was choosing to believe in her. To be there for her.
“Thank you,” Mathilda whispered, turning her gaze back to Cora. Her empathetic look hadn’t wavered.
“Cheer up, buttercup,” Cora gave her hand another squeeze, her voice returning to its usual playful nature. “Can I see a smile?”
Mathilda could hardly help it - Coraline was hard to say no to, and it was hard not to smile around her. She let out a soft giggle, reluctantly pulling her hand free to rub at her eyes.
“There we go,” Cora praised happily. “Gotta balance out the sad with some joy.”
She was right. Mathilda leaned back on her hands, the concrete of the rooftop digging into her palms.
“Thanks for coming out here and validating me,” she let out a breathy laugh. “Didn’t know I needed that so badly.”
“Of course.” Cora shrugged. “I noticed you’d left and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
The vampire nodded, absently chewing on her lip as she looked out at the dark city, street lights illuminating the slick roads. If she squinted, she could almost pretend they were fireflies, twinkling in the garden of her childhood home. Almost.
“I’m okay, now,” she said quietly. “Mostly because of you. If you wanna go inside and finish game night with the others…” It’s a soft, genuine offer: she doesn’t want Cora to feel like she has to stay with her.
Coraline gave her an odd look, rolling her eyes.
“What?” Mathilda stared at her incredulously, slightly offended. Had she said something wrong?
“I came out here because I was worried,” Cora explained, voice amused, “and because I wanted to spend time with you, Mathilda. If you’ll have me.”
“...Oh.” She took this in carefully, cheeks flushing faintly.
Coraline made a vague gesture with her arms, admittedly looking a bit flustered, herself. “I just thought - well, Quinn made it seem like you liked women, and you’re you, and I-”
“I do,” Mathilda blurted.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
“I do… like women,” she continued clumsily. “I’ve never really… been with one, or done much dating, but I do. Like women.”
Cora breathed a sigh of relief. “Me too,” she agreed. “I try to make that obvious, though.”
Had Mathilda been more well-fed, she’d be a deep shade of red by now. Of course she’d noticed Cora’s affection towards women, even envied it , but returned feelings had apparently gone right over her head.
“Mathilda?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?”
Mathilda could almost swear she felt her heart flutter.
Yes, she wanted to say. Please.
And yet, she faltered. What if it wasn’t as magical as her daydreams?
What if Cora was disappointed?
The witch was watching her carefully, her gaze moving to Mathilda’s mouth with little restraint. “I understand if it’s a no,” Coraline said softly, “but I really, really-”
Mathilda moved before her nerves could tell her otherwise, leaning over and ghosting her lips over the delicate corner of her mouth.
They stayed like that for a heartbeat, Cora’s heart steadily picking up in rhythm, before she shifted just enough for their lips to gently touch.
It was soft and slow, simply getting used to the feeling of the other woman. Mathilda sighed into her mouth, an incredible wave of happiness washing over her.
This felt right.
Cora raised a hand to carefully cradle Mathilda’s face, lithe fingers tracing her jawline as she wrapped her other arm around her, drawing Daisy in close.
They naturally fell apart, foreheads pressed together, and beaming smiles on their faces.
“That was nice,” Mathilda breathed, “that was - really nice. I like kissing you.”
“I like kissing you,” Cora chuckled, eyes wide with wonder. “We could do it some more?”
“Sounds good to me.”