Eye To Eye
Mar. 22nd, 2009 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
purple_pen“No,” Rebecca said firmly, not looking up from the papers spread out before her. “I don’t do stuff like that. You know that.”
“Becca,” Natalie complained, drawing out every syllable. “It’s just once and it’s so important.”
“No.” Rebecca scribbled a quick note in the margin of one page. “I don’t care how important it is.”
“I’d pay you.” Natalie fumbled in her shoulder bag for her purse.
Rebecca shook her head in despair. “That went without saying. I don’t work for free.”
“Fantastic! How much? I don’t have much cash, but I can -.” Looking up from her purse full of receipts, Natalie found herself speaking to empty air. There was no sign of Rebecca in the room, just a small grey rabbit staring intently at her.
She stared back, feeling a little stupid, and wondered if she ought to speak. Did rabbits speak back – even magical rabbits? And what could she say anyway?
The rabbit blinked oddly familiar brown eyes and a new thought struck her – maybe Rebecca was still in the room, just waiting for Natalie to carry on speaking, addressing her pleas to her in rabbit rather than human form.
It was a worryingly strong possibility, from what she knew of Rebecca.
“You couldn’t pay me enough,” Rebecca’s voice said. “Even if I did take cheques, which –” she stepped back into the room, two mugs of tea in one hand, the book she was now reading in the other – “I don’t.”
“Why not?” Natalie asked weakly. Across the room, the rabbit turned away, but not before she could have sworn she saw it laughing at her. “It’s a perfectly valid form of payment.”
“So’s trade in kind,” the other girl said, handing her a mug without looking up from her book. “But it’s not much good on the higher planes. And anyway, I’m not doing it, not for any money.”
“Becca!” She really wanted to stamp her foot, but resisted. “This could be my one chance, and you’re stopping me from achieving it! Ruining my entire life from this point forward!”
“If you say so,” Rebecca said calmly. She took a sip of her tea, turning back to her papers. “I’m sure I’ll manage to live with that thought somehow. I always have before.”
“I thought you had an obligation to help people in need.”
“I do.”
“I’m needy!” Natalie exclaimed. “I need your help or I’ll just die. And it’ll be on your head.”
“Die of what, exactly?” Rebecca asked.
“A broken heart.” Natalie waved her hand in a sweepingly dramatic motion. “I love him, Becca, and he doesn’t even know I exist. I’m just the girl who serves his coffee, just there to provide a service. He’ll never look at me any other way unless. You. Help me!”
Rebecca’s pen stopped in the middle of her sentence, though she didn’t look up. It was the first indication that she was actually considering agreeing, and Natalie held her breath, waiting.
“All right,” Rebecca said finally. She looked up, meeting Natalie’s gaze at last. ‘Sit down, drink your tea, and if you still think the same then, we’ll talk terms.”
“Becca, you’re a star. I’ll do anything, anything -.”
Rebecca’s expression cut her off. “Drink your tea. Then we’ll talk.”
Natalie dropped obligingly into the soft chair and took a large swallow of the tea. It tasted different from her normal PG Tips, but everyone knew Rebecca wasn’t very well off, so she probably bought supermarket own brand. That, and she hadn’t added any milk or sugar to the tea, which didn’t help.
Natalie’s gaze wandered round the room – it was small, stuffed with old books, assorted bottles and, bizarrely, a large collection of china ducks. She hadn’t really noticed them the few other times she’d visited Rebecca’s flat, but she’d never spent all that much time in it on her previous visits either. It wasn’t that she felt uncomfortable around Rebecca, exactly, more that Rebecca tended to dispose of her customers as swiftly as possible. It made her wonder why Rebecca hadn’t just thrown her out when she’d first refused to make the spell.
Perhaps she was just lonely, Natalie speculated, drinking some more of her tea. It really did taste strange, the more she drank. Not really like regular tea at all. Still, maybe it was some kind of fruit tea Rebecca liked, and even if it did taste pretty awful, she’d promised to drink it for… for something from Rebecca.
Rebecca. Lonely. Natalie never saw her with any guy: on the few occasions she had seen Rebecca outside her flat, she was always with another girl. Valentine’s Day was only next week after all, perhaps she would have liked someone of her own to perform a love spell on.
A love spell, of course. Rebecca had promised her the spell if she drank the tea. She took another large swallow, glancing at Rebecca to see if she was watching. She wasn’t, her head still down over her papers, as though she’d forgotten Natalie was even there.
She was quite pretty, actually, Natalie thought as the other girl pushed a long dark curl back behind her ear. Once you got past the strange, hippie clothes and the glasses… If she wore contacts, so people could see her eyes better, she’d have plenty of dates. Even without a love spell.
And she had a nice voice too. Soothing and calming and just like soft breezes on a summer day, Natalie thought, and giggled at her own cliché. But she was nice, even nicer than summer days, even when she was refusing to do… whatever it was she’d offered to do when Natalie finished her tea.
She took a deep breath and swallowed the last of the tea in one long gulp. It was like Lemsip, all the really odd tasting bits lurked at the bottom of the mug to leave a really nasty taste in your mouth.
“Finished?” Rebecca asked, looking up from her papers.
“Finished,” Natalie said. She met Rebecca’s eyes, and suddenly found she couldn’t look away.
Rebecca’s eyes were very blue, very bright and engaging. There was something behind them as well, something shifting and secretive. She leaned a little closer, wanting to see it better, but couldn’t catch it well enough.
Rebecca moved round the desk, still not breaking eye contact, and smiled. “So do you still want to talk terms?” she asked, quietly.
“Terms?” Something sounded deep in her memory, too quiet to hear.
“For the spell?” Rebecca asked.
“What spell?” Natalie asked.
“Good answer,” Rebecca said softly, and leaned forward and kissed her.
“Becca,” Natalie complained, drawing out every syllable. “It’s just once and it’s so important.”
“No.” Rebecca scribbled a quick note in the margin of one page. “I don’t care how important it is.”
“I’d pay you.” Natalie fumbled in her shoulder bag for her purse.
Rebecca shook her head in despair. “That went without saying. I don’t work for free.”
“Fantastic! How much? I don’t have much cash, but I can -.” Looking up from her purse full of receipts, Natalie found herself speaking to empty air. There was no sign of Rebecca in the room, just a small grey rabbit staring intently at her.
She stared back, feeling a little stupid, and wondered if she ought to speak. Did rabbits speak back – even magical rabbits? And what could she say anyway?
The rabbit blinked oddly familiar brown eyes and a new thought struck her – maybe Rebecca was still in the room, just waiting for Natalie to carry on speaking, addressing her pleas to her in rabbit rather than human form.
It was a worryingly strong possibility, from what she knew of Rebecca.
“You couldn’t pay me enough,” Rebecca’s voice said. “Even if I did take cheques, which –” she stepped back into the room, two mugs of tea in one hand, the book she was now reading in the other – “I don’t.”
“Why not?” Natalie asked weakly. Across the room, the rabbit turned away, but not before she could have sworn she saw it laughing at her. “It’s a perfectly valid form of payment.”
“So’s trade in kind,” the other girl said, handing her a mug without looking up from her book. “But it’s not much good on the higher planes. And anyway, I’m not doing it, not for any money.”
“Becca!” She really wanted to stamp her foot, but resisted. “This could be my one chance, and you’re stopping me from achieving it! Ruining my entire life from this point forward!”
“If you say so,” Rebecca said calmly. She took a sip of her tea, turning back to her papers. “I’m sure I’ll manage to live with that thought somehow. I always have before.”
“I thought you had an obligation to help people in need.”
“I do.”
“I’m needy!” Natalie exclaimed. “I need your help or I’ll just die. And it’ll be on your head.”
“Die of what, exactly?” Rebecca asked.
“A broken heart.” Natalie waved her hand in a sweepingly dramatic motion. “I love him, Becca, and he doesn’t even know I exist. I’m just the girl who serves his coffee, just there to provide a service. He’ll never look at me any other way unless. You. Help me!”
Rebecca’s pen stopped in the middle of her sentence, though she didn’t look up. It was the first indication that she was actually considering agreeing, and Natalie held her breath, waiting.
“All right,” Rebecca said finally. She looked up, meeting Natalie’s gaze at last. ‘Sit down, drink your tea, and if you still think the same then, we’ll talk terms.”
“Becca, you’re a star. I’ll do anything, anything -.”
Rebecca’s expression cut her off. “Drink your tea. Then we’ll talk.”
Natalie dropped obligingly into the soft chair and took a large swallow of the tea. It tasted different from her normal PG Tips, but everyone knew Rebecca wasn’t very well off, so she probably bought supermarket own brand. That, and she hadn’t added any milk or sugar to the tea, which didn’t help.
Natalie’s gaze wandered round the room – it was small, stuffed with old books, assorted bottles and, bizarrely, a large collection of china ducks. She hadn’t really noticed them the few other times she’d visited Rebecca’s flat, but she’d never spent all that much time in it on her previous visits either. It wasn’t that she felt uncomfortable around Rebecca, exactly, more that Rebecca tended to dispose of her customers as swiftly as possible. It made her wonder why Rebecca hadn’t just thrown her out when she’d first refused to make the spell.
Perhaps she was just lonely, Natalie speculated, drinking some more of her tea. It really did taste strange, the more she drank. Not really like regular tea at all. Still, maybe it was some kind of fruit tea Rebecca liked, and even if it did taste pretty awful, she’d promised to drink it for… for something from Rebecca.
Rebecca. Lonely. Natalie never saw her with any guy: on the few occasions she had seen Rebecca outside her flat, she was always with another girl. Valentine’s Day was only next week after all, perhaps she would have liked someone of her own to perform a love spell on.
A love spell, of course. Rebecca had promised her the spell if she drank the tea. She took another large swallow, glancing at Rebecca to see if she was watching. She wasn’t, her head still down over her papers, as though she’d forgotten Natalie was even there.
She was quite pretty, actually, Natalie thought as the other girl pushed a long dark curl back behind her ear. Once you got past the strange, hippie clothes and the glasses… If she wore contacts, so people could see her eyes better, she’d have plenty of dates. Even without a love spell.
And she had a nice voice too. Soothing and calming and just like soft breezes on a summer day, Natalie thought, and giggled at her own cliché. But she was nice, even nicer than summer days, even when she was refusing to do… whatever it was she’d offered to do when Natalie finished her tea.
She took a deep breath and swallowed the last of the tea in one long gulp. It was like Lemsip, all the really odd tasting bits lurked at the bottom of the mug to leave a really nasty taste in your mouth.
“Finished?” Rebecca asked, looking up from her papers.
“Finished,” Natalie said. She met Rebecca’s eyes, and suddenly found she couldn’t look away.
Rebecca’s eyes were very blue, very bright and engaging. There was something behind them as well, something shifting and secretive. She leaned a little closer, wanting to see it better, but couldn’t catch it well enough.
Rebecca moved round the desk, still not breaking eye contact, and smiled. “So do you still want to talk terms?” she asked, quietly.
“Terms?” Something sounded deep in her memory, too quiet to hear.
“For the spell?” Rebecca asked.
“What spell?” Natalie asked.
“Good answer,” Rebecca said softly, and leaned forward and kissed her.
