Chapter Text
“Sweetie, where’s my tub of polish?”
“Uhh, isn’t it under the sink?”
“No, I looked there first.”
“What about the pantry?”
“Not there, either.”
“Hold on, I’ll check the bathroom.”
“No, it’s fine, you’re busy. I’ll do it myself.”
Sasha quickly ran to the bathroom of their tiny apartment. With Anne in the office doing her homework, Sasha was left to find her stuff by herself. She usually kept them in the same place, so she could find them easier, but they had been moved yesterday. She had taken an impromptu trip to Amphibia the day prior, and had taken her pink heron sword with her, naturally, but now all of her cleaning supplies were out of place. She must have hidden them; she didn’t want Anne to know about the trip, after all. But she hid them too well. And now she couldn’t remember.
It took another hour, but in the upstairs linen closet, she found, stashed under a box full of printed photos of their trips and childhoods, the repair kit for her weapons, and within it, the metal polish she’d needed. The small white tub was quietly retrieved, and Sasha went back down to the living room, where she’d set up a workspace of her own on the coffee table. On one end sat her sword, and on the other sat her other equipment: a bottle of oil, a rag for cleaning glasses that turned out to be really great at dusting off a sword, a small hand buffer for any massive scrapes, a towel in case anything spilled onto the wood floor, and now, the tub of polish.
She got the rag first, and began wiping down the blade carefully. With her leather gloves on, she was sure she wouldn’t injure herself, but still, she took her time. She had plenty to spare, as Anne would be busy catching up for her classes for a while. Her dedication to college was really admirable to Sasha, given how she had always been the C-student of their group up until high school. But she had really grown over the years, coming to love both learning and responsibility. She changed.
Sasha supposed that was what drew her to herself the most. The fact that Anne never stopped improving herself. That, and all the other things about her that made her heart race. The dreamy eyes, the tender way she kissed her, the cutest curls? Ah, Sasha could swoon just thinking about her.
And she almost did, only stopping as she noticed how dangerously close to impaling herself she was. Focus, Waybright. You’re holding a sword, focus.
Once she had dusted it off, she moved on to step 2: the first coat of oil. Getting the little bottle of mineral oil out, she applied a nice, even coat across every bit of metal, which just so happened to be the whole thing. Sasha didn’t know much about smithing, but she knew enough to know how difficult it must have been to forge this. It truly was an impressive piece of equipment, despite how it had been used in the past.
She looked at the face of the heron, and the heron stared back. She flinched as the memories came, unwelcome though they were. The duels, the drama, all the pain this blade had caused, it all came back in waves. But as she looked at her reflection in the blade, the scars on her face pink against pale skin, she realized how far she’d come. How much she had changed. Anne was her catalyst, and she had been true to her vow to be someone she deserved. As much as it hurt, it was an important reminder of the journey she had taken to the life she led today.
It was about that time that Anne sauntered into the room. “Guess who just cancelled their class next week?”
Looking up from the blade, Sasha turned to Anne. She couldn’t help but feel butterflies, even after all this time. “Who?”
“That cranky Literature professor I told you about. He’s finally getting that divorce, and he cancelled our test so he could meet with his lawyer and his wife’s lawyer.”
“Uh, this is good news, right?”
“Yeah! Now I don’t have to study for the rest of the day. Meaning…” She closed the distance between the two of them, and leant down onto the arm of the couch so she could kiss Sasha on the corner of the mouth. “I get to spend the rest of the day here, relaxing, with you.”
“Oh, that IS good news,” she said, paying her back with a kiss on the lips. “C’mon, sit with me, you can watch me finish up.”
Anne was about to say, “OK,” but Sasha was reaching for the polish. She cracked it open, and Anne immediately ran behind the couch, covering her nose and mouth with her hands. “Ugh, is it supposed to smell that bad?!”
“It’s just the ammonia in it. It keeps it from getting rusty.”
“Gross, it smells like a public restroom.”
“Ammonia tends to smell like that, dear. Can’t really help it.”
“Yeah, on second thought, I’ll just…” She maneuvered herself to Sasha’s back, leaning over her, but downwind of the stench coming up as her girlfriend slathered the nasty white cream all down the length of the blade, using the corner of a towel to get it into the grooves of the hilt.
Carefully, so as not to startle her, Anne put her hands on Sasha’s shoulders, rubbing gently as she applied the polish. As she continued, she moved down her arms, slowly embracing her. Pressing a kiss into Sasha’s hair, she reached for her hands, but Sasha pulled back.
“Hang on, I’m almost done. Don’t wanna get cut again.”
“Sorry.”
“You’re fine, just be careful.”
“Why the gloves?”
“For one, they protect me. For another thing, I can’t let fingerprints get on the blade.”
“Huh. Didn’t know you were a neat freak.”
“It’s not about the look; the oils on your skin corrode the blade. I’d have to start over if I got prints on it now.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that. Who taught you that, Marcy?”
Sasha shook her head. “Grime. When you lead an army, you have to know how to keep your gear in good condition. He taught me everything I know about swords. He probably knows more about them than anyone, even Marcy.”
“Eh, I’d like to see him go head-to-head with Polly. That girl knows her instruments of pain like the back of her flipper.”
“I always did like that little menace. How’s she doing these days?”
“Going to college, I think. Turns out, higher education can be useful for a Plantar. At least, it is if you’re inventing new farm tools.”
“Hmm. Good for her.”
As they spoke, Sasha reached the end of the blade, getting the last remaining smears off and getting the final layer nice and even. Anne, for her part, found it very therapeutic, watching her girlfriend’s arms going back and forth, the muscles in her biceps flexing with the consistent motion. It was hypnotizing, and her head was slowly sinking into Sasha’s scalp, sleep threatening to take her the longer she watched. Maybe she had inhaled too many fumes. Oh, well. There were worse ways to go.
Once every nick and scrape had been covered, she set the rag down on the coffee table and placed the sword gently down next to the rest of her supplies. “Ok, dear, now we wait for that to dry, and then there’s one last step. And then I’m all yours.”
“Hm. Don’t rush on my account.”
“Oh. Ok, I won’t.” Anne made an indignant noise, but nestled deeper into the blonde nest she had made for herself up there. Sasha smiled before taking off her gloves and gently lifting Anne from her head, moving her head to her shoulder level so she could look her in the eyes. “… Anyone ever tell you you’re pretty, lately?”
Anne’s eyes glinted with a mischievous gleam. “Not really. Well, there is this one loser. You wouldn’t know her.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, she’s got this long, noodle-like hair. Looks like mac ’n’ cheese.”
Sasha cocked an eyebrow, smiling softly. “Uh-huh.”
“Yep, and she always loses to me in Super Dance Fusion.”
“Ha! That’s definitely not anyone I know. She sure sounds like a loser to me.”
“Yeah, she used to be worse, though. But she’s not all bad. I mean, she’s got nice eyes.”
“Nice eyes, huh?” Sasha’s hands reached under her chin, holding her cheeks and feeling her breathe under her touch. Anne nearly dissolved at the sensation.
“Yeah. Blue. Actually, maybe they’re gray?” She squinted as she looked at Sasha. “Depends on the weather. It’s really cool watching them change.”
“Anything else?”
“Oh, of course. Don’t get me started on her smile. Perfect teeth. Must have cost a fortune. Totally worth it, though. And she must go to the spa all the time because her skin looks so good and it’s so soft.” At that, she grabbed Sasha’s hands and held them even closer to her face. Sasha started to blush heavily. Stuttering, she continued, subtly leaning towards Anne’s lips..
“… D-does she, now? Uh, anything else I should know about her? Just so I know she won’t steal you away from me.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’d never date her,” Anne said, closing the distance between them. Their lips were nearly touching.
“Oh? Why not?”
And just as Sasha leaned in nearly all the way, Anne pinched her nose and pulled away with a playful gag. “Because she always stinks like sword polish.”
“Ugh, you tease!” She picked up a glove and gave her light smack on the arm. Anne was cackling madly as she dodged a second hit. “Ok. Well. Now I’m not even sorry for this next part.”
Trying to calm down and catch her breath, Anne looked up, wiping a tear from her eye. “W-wait, what’s next?”
She caught Anne’s eye and gave a menacing stare. “The last step.”
She reached to the table and pulled a small bottle out, popping off the top off the dispensing cap and holding the nozzle under her nose.
“The oil. And baby,” she said, getting up slowly, “if you thought the polish was bad, just wait ‘til you get a whiff of this.”
And Anne’s smile disappeared, replaced by a horrified expression as she backed out of the living room. “Don’t. Don’t even thiNK ABOUT IT, SASHA!!!”
But it was too late, as Sasha sprung up and started chasing Anne around the apartment with the foul-smelling liquid. As quick as Anne was, Sasha was more athletic, and it was no time at all until she had caught her, grabbing her in a bear hug, tackling her to the ground, and forcing her to smell the bottle’s contents.
“NO! SASH, I’M GONNA GET SICK, DON’T–!” But as she started smelling it, she stopped struggling. Then, she smacked her girlfriend as hard as she was able to with her hands pinned to her sides. “It doesn’t even HAVE a smell, you jerk!”
Sasha rolled off of her, laughing like mad as Anne grumpily sat up on the floor, arms crossed. “Haha, I’m sorry! No, really, I’m–heh–no, really, I am!” She was barely able to pull it together long enough to look Anne in the face. She leaned up and poked her in the cheek. Anne turned away. “Aaaannnee~! I love you, honey!”
“Yeah, right.”
“Oh, c’mon. What’s a little prank between lovers, huh?”
“I’m so mad at you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Hmf.” Anne continued pouting as Sasha got up and started giving her kisses on the cheek. It took a bit, but eventually, the wall she built started crumbling, and soon, she was reduced to girlish giggles as Sasha showered her with as much affection as she could muster. In a few moments, she was kissing her back, and all was well again.
“Ok, apology accepted. But you’ve still gotta make it up to me, somehow.”
“Funny you say that. I had a plan for that that I was gonna try tonight.”
Anne shot her a quizzical glance. “Such as?”
“I know how much you like seafood, Anne. And I’ve been watching a lot of cooking tutorials.”
“Oh no, you don’t! Not in my kitchen!”
“Aww, c’mon, Annie! I already got the ingredients and everything!”
“What ingredients?”
“Well, you remember how I took that trip yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“You remember that duffel bag I came in with yesterday?”
“… Yeah…”
“Check the fridge.”
Anne got up, keeping one eye on Sasha as she entered the open kitchen area. Peering into the fridge, she was met with one enormous blue crab claw, the size of a ham, stuffed haphazardly on top of everything else in the tiny space.
“Hoopa da boopa! Sasha! Where did you even get this?!”
“Amphibia,” she called back as she returned to her sword. Couldn’t just leave it there, after all.
“Ok, ignoring the fact that you went back without telling me, WITHOUT ME, where exactly did you find this?”
“Didn’t find it, I slayed it. No, wait, is it ‘slew?’ Ah, who cares?”
“By yourself?”
“Nah.” She seated herself and finally started applying the second coat of oil. “Grime helped. We used Hop Pop’s boat.”
For a moment, everything was quiet. Then, she heard a sniffle. “You… you did this for me?”
Sasha looked up to see Anne looking at her with eyes full of happy tears. “Of course! Anything for you, babe!”
Anne smiled, wiping away a tear as it fell. “You’re the sweetest, you know that?”
Sasha smirked, in the way she knew drove Anne nuts. “I am, aren’t I?”
Her girlfriend blushed a deep red at that, but tried to look upset at the display of ego. It didn’t work. “Ha, ha. But, I am still kind of upset you didn’t tell me. What if something went wrong?”
“Don’t worry about it. That crab was a pushover. No way I was losing to that thing with this.” She gestured to the sword in her lap. Anne nodded, seeming to accept that response, at least for now.
“And I guess now I know why your sword was dirty.”
“Yeah. Speaking of which…” She finished applying the last of the oil, and lightly wiped it down one last time, making sure not to take any of the still-drying oil off. In the light of the living room, the sword seemed to glow slightly, shining as though it were new. She walked over to Anne, sidling up next to her in the doorframe, holding the sword out in front of them. Wrapping an arm around her, they each looked at their shared reflection in the steel and leaned into each other. So they could see better, of course. And if Sasha found Anne to be warm, or if Anne found Sasha’s shirt to be comfy, then that was just another reason to be close.
“What do you think? I did a pretty good job, huh?”
“I think it’s beautiful, honestly. As beautiful as its owner.”