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“Did you miss me?” Her boots clanking against the peerless surface of the laboratory floor reverberated across the vast room. She lifted her arms to accentuate the entrance.
“Worried I wouldn’t get back?”
Herta’s unyielding smirk countered Ruan Mei’s perfectly blank, unamused expression. Had Ruan Mei cared enough, she would have rolled her eyes, maybe, but the genius does not waste energy on trivialities such as emotions.
“I told you not to get me involved in that histrionic experiment of yours.” Ruan Mei’s tone was neither stern nor sarcastic, a perfectly neutral expression of complete indifference. The air in the cold sterile laboratory feels just a hint chillier than a moment ago.
Had Herta been younger, she would have made a scene, maybe, but as it was, she felt no desire to drag this topic any longer. Despite knowing better after all these years, a small part of her in the back of her mind still very much felt the sting of insecurity gnawing at her. Something about this little game of theirs felt uneven. Ruan Mei always seemed better equipped for it.
No matter — she does not need any external reassurance. She is The Herta herself.
“Well. Remember what else you told me?” She mused instead, feigning innocence. Herta drew closer to the other woman, until their faces were mere inches apart. Her gaze remained laser focused on Ruan Mei’s eyes, gauging for the slightest hint of facade cracking. She inched forward, lower, until the fellow genius could feel her breath on her neck.
“Eager for the dessert, are you?” The woman followed, locked onto Herta’s gaze herself, always analysing as if she could see right into her. Her voice did not betray any feelings. “It proves to be a particularly effective motivator.”
It’s true — Herta wasted no time on recovering. If it were an option, she would have made a beeline straight to Ruan Mei’s.
“It was such a nuisance,” she broke away from the stalemate, sighing and crossing her arms to emphasise her theatric exasperation. “If I don’t clean up after everyone, then who will? Don’t you agree I deserve a reward after all this hard work?” she teased again, slowly regaining her usual energy.
Ruan Mei says nothing. Herta nearly chokes. She’s enveloped in an embrace, as Ruan Mei rests her chin on Herta’s shoulder. Her heart begins pounding against her will as a wave of emotions completely overcomes her. The adrenaline seems to evaporate from her completely and the realisation it’s really over grounds her to the point her knees nearly give out in that moment.
It’s over.
She repeats the phrase, letting it wash over her, she soaks it in like the first spring rain.
She forces the heaviness in her chest to stay inside, as she slowly wraps her hand around Ruan Mei, burying her face in the crook of her neck.
How long they remain frozen remains a mystery for Herta.
She doubts it’s long. They don’t do this — sappy shit. They don’t waste energy on attachments. They just press each other’s buttons for the thrill of it, once they get bored enough. They are prominent geniuses, their sole focus lies far beyond the tangible—she feels the younger woman’s shaky breath and The Herta lets her mind go blank for possibly the first time in her life. Reality outruns whatever Herta has been telling herself about the nature of her cooperation with #81 in that moment, leaving a sour taste in her throat that she cant seem to swallow down.
She can almost admit to herself—
Ruan Mei’s hands begin to untangle the corset of her dress.