(Lmaooo)
Farah studied Mara, though her gaze wasn't as hostile as it had been before. Then Farah spoke without realizing exactly what she was saying. "I can't tell if you're lying or not."
The pair descended into silence until they reached what Farah assumed would be her new room. Her eyes tracked the key card until Mara handed it to her. She blinked with confusion, then reached out and pinched it between her fingers. How was this possible? As Mara spoke, Farah picked up on her blush and the hint of embarrassment in her mind. Why was she embarrassed? This place was… spectacular. Or was she embarrassed to give it to Farah?
"I don't understand," Farah said cautiously. She spoke every word as if in a second, Mara would snatch the key back and laugh while having Farah hauled back to her old, disgusting cell. "All of this is… for me? And I'm free to leave and return as I chose? Why are you doing all of this?"
Mara smiled a little and wiggled her hand to entice Farah to take it. "This is a peace offering, it's not much right now.. Like I said your free to leave the room and roam, but there are places you can't go, like you can't walk out the front door and got to the mall or whatever, and no jumping the brick fence in the back." She added with a chuckle, she sighed and shrugged. " I just want to have a better life, and anyone who's willing, I want to give them a better life too, and it starts with you farah."
Farah's demeanor softened at Mara's words. "Oh… alright… thank you, Mara," she murmured quietly. She smiled faintly back and took the key from Mara's fingers. While she was confused and especially wary of this new room, it was certainly better than her old one, and she didn't want to deny it.
She took a few steps in and inhaled firmly before beginning to look around.
(If you want to get to… what I know you want to get to lmao… we could do a mini timeskip. Say about a week? That way Farah could be comfortable and more used to Mara.)
( well I don't want to instantly jump into that I want to gradually get there so we can do as time skip to the point where they're gradually getting to that point but I again don't want to jump instantly to that because I feel like it's too soon 😅)
Mara smiled as she watched farah step into the room. "Well.. I'm going to leave you too it, get some rest make yourself at home, you shouldn't need anything for food but if you do just let one of my men know and they'll get you whatever you need within reason. " Mara started to take a few steps back her heart beating rappedly for some reason, she turned around and started to make her way down the way they had come from.
(Okay, I’m good with whenever you decide to start going with it lol)
Farah listened as Mara spoke while also curiously observing her new living space. Of course her needs would be within reason. She was here if her own accord. She’d surrendered to the villain, who… wasn’t acting very villainous at the moment.
Farah turned to speak to Mara again, but the girl was already gone. Though Farah did feel a mixture of complex emotions emanating from her as she hurried off down the hallway.
(I'm thinking we do the time skip now but like have them do the light fluffy stuff at first?)
(That sounds good to me! Whatever floats your boat lmao)
(How'd you wanna do it? I could try to make a time skip, but I'm horrible at them lol.)
(You could just do to the next significant moment Farah and Mara interact.)
(Alright that sounds good, I'll start on that as soon as possible)
About a week later after Mara had shown the hero to her new room she had one of her men bring a letter to farah's room telling her to meet her on the roof that she had something she wanted to show her, Mara hadn't come see farah since the last night they spoke. She was sitting up on the ledge of the roof sitting sideways with her knees up to her chest and her back against a wall, on another part of the building, the wind was blowing her hair around her face framing it gently as she looked over the city that seemed to be quite a few miles away.
(It's short but it's something 😭)
(You’re good! I’m fine about length ❤️)
Needless to say, Farah was surprised to receive the letter from Mara asking her to come to the roof. “To show me something?” she murmured to herself. “How does she know I won’t just jump off when I have the chance?”
Still, Farah’s curiosity got the better of her, and she was on her way to the ladder in a heartbeat. Her steps up the ladder were swift and sure, and just as she stepped onto the roof, a gentle breeze ran through her hair. Not expecting a surprise like this, Farah had left it down. It flowed all the way down her back even though she had braided a bit to keep it away from her face.
Her eyes locked on Mara, and she approached the other girl with the letter in her fingers. “Something you wanted to show me?” she asked without the usual hostility in her tone.
Mara didn't look over at Farah until he felt her presence and heard her voice. She looked up a the and her cheeks flushed a bit and she brushed her hair out of her face. " yeah, I've been coming up here every now and then, I wanted to show you the view of the city, to me it feels more relaxing looking at then being there. Don't you agree? " she asked looking back over at Farah and motioning for her to sit down.
Farah watched a rosy blush paint Mara’s face, and she couldn’t help the surprise she felt. She knew the other girl wasn’t blushing because of the cold since it had only just happened when… when Farah spoke to her.
Slowly, Farah inhaled and sat down beside the girl with enough space between them that they weren’t touching. “Yes,” she agreed. “I never truly did like the city. It’s too crowded and noisy. My abilities overstimulate easily, which is hard to manage in a place like that.”
She inclined her head toward Mara, her eyes and expression soft after she’d just shared her vulnerability. “Mara… why did you really want me to meet you up here? I haven’t seen you in days, since you left me in my new room, and now this, out of the blue?”
Mara nodded her head in agreement and smiled a little too herself before dipping her head. "Yeah I know what you mean, that's why I'm held up out here, my powers always seem to be on the fritz when I'm around big crowds. "
She took a breath and rubbed the back of her neck, "well I didn't lie.. I did want to show you something. " she pulled out a little baggie from her pocket with a tiny chip in it and the entire atmosphere around them changed and her face lost all color "there's a reason why I haven't been around all week, I found a bomb in my neck and I think I know why it was there and why it hasn't gone off. "
Farah offered a small smile at Mara's agreement. Finally, something the women agreed on. It took them long enough to find out that for all their years of fighting in the city that neither of them liked it.
Though the softness in Farah's expression immediately vanished when Mara revealed the real reason for her summons. Farah's eyes studied the little chip, then Mara's face. "Oh my God," Farah whispered. Without thinking, her hand gently covered Mara's free one, and she stroked the back of the other woman's hand with her thumb. "How did you find it? Why was it there? Why hasn't it gone off?"
Mara was silent for a moment trying to slow her thoughts enough for her to speak, she flinched at the feeling of farah's hand on hers, she took a deep breath and shook her head. "I wasn't made to be a hero, Farah. That was never my purpose… I was made to be exactly what I am, a monster. They put it there in case I ever got out of hand, in case I ever killed you.. But it's been deactivated so don't worry it's not going to go off, but before I told you anything I wanted to have more information, but right now I barely have enough as it is. "
Farah immediately pulled her hand away as Mara flinched. She didn't want to make the other girl afraid of her. In fact, she was starting to want the complete opposite.
She covered her mouth with her hand, unshed tears pooling in her eyes. Once Mara was done, Farah lowered her own hand to speak. "You are not the monster," she whispered. "They are. That's horrible. I can't believe they did that to you. It didn't hurt you to take it out, did it? Maybe I can help you. What kind of information do you need?"
Mara wasn't really afraid of Farah she just wasn't subjected to physical touch very much so it made her uncomfortable.
She scoffed and shook her head, her half lidded eyes looking at the city "you can't say I'm not a monster, when I've killed as many people as I have, I became exactly what they made me for.. I was made..for you,"
She went silent for a moment before shaking her head "it didn't hurt to remove don't worry, it was surgically removed by a professional I was under anesthesia the whole time, I felt nothing. That's another reason why I never visited you because I didn't want you to know anything until I studied the chip. "
Farah watched Mara closely, and a rush of sadness flooded her at the girl's words. Mara wasn't a monster. She'd been forced into being a monster. God, Farah could see it so clearly now. But then, as Mara continued, Farah stilled. Her words were directive and emphasized in a way that made Farah question her meaning. Did Mara mean that they'd been made to fight and oppose each other in all ways possible? Or… did she mean something else entirely?
Farah pondered all of this, but before she could speak, the topic changed again. "Oh," she whispered quietly, still looking at Mara even as she watched the city. "I'm glad you weren't in any pain. Though… I do wish you said something. I want to help." She hesitantly reached for Mara's hand again and took it in her own this time. "I want to help you."
Mara stiffened at farah's touch but instinctively gripped the other girls hand gently but never looked at her. "Farah… I don't think you can help me, I'm too far gone, I'm scared I'm going to do something that will change the way that you look at me now. " she said shortly the grip on farah's hand ever so slightly.
Farah winced at Mara's reaction to her touch. Making the girl uncomfortable only made Farah uncomfortable as well, and the hero was about to pull her hand back away. But she froze as Mara took her hand and even held it a bit tighter. The tension Farah felt dissolved immediately, and her expression softened.
Though at Mara's words, Farah scoffed lightly. "Mara," she murmured, thinking over her next words carefully. "The way that I look at you has changed too many times within the past two weeks. I believe that, for the first time, I can see you clearly now. Nothing will change that now."
Gently, Farah lifted her free hand and put her fingers under Mara's chin to tilt her head toward Farah's, forcing their eyes to meet. "And no one is ever too far gone," she whispered.
Mara let out a breath, there was a lump in her throat and she felt as though the air around her no longer existed, her mind was racing. This was what it felt like to feel somebody, to hold them, Farah felt so fragile in the villains hand she almost let go with the fear she would harm the poor girl. She listened to the hero's words her eyes half lidded once more until Farah had Mara's chin within her finger tipa, she sucked in a deep breath as she looked as the woman before her, Mara's heart was pounding against her chest, she had no clue wha Farah was doing she'd never been intimate with anyone before.
The intake of emotions all at once was so sudden Farah barely felt it coming at all. In a heartbeat, she could feel Mara's racing heart and her stolen breath. Hesitance. Understanding. Fear. Wonder. Curiosity. Confusion. She picked up snippets of Mara's thoughts and emotions, but the most stinging word played over and over in Farah's mind after she heard it: intimate.
Farah came back into herself with a snap, and she suddenly realized how intimate of a position she had initiated. With a startled jerk, she pulled her hand out of Mara's and drew her fingers back from touching Mara's chin. Where her fingertips had been touching the other woman's skin felt electrified.
"I'm sorry," Farah blurted, scrambling to her feet and backing away. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have…" She shook her head and hurried for the ladder without finishing her sentence. God, what would Mara think of her now?
Mara gasped when Farah jearked herself away Mara's hand clamping into a fist as soon as the other girls had was gone. She turned her face away as it turned red, she felt stupid of course Farah didn't want to kiss her who would? She was a freak, she was the bad guy that never got the happy ending she wanted. She curled in on herself and looked back over at the shadowy buildings in the city. Her eyes burned with tears threating to fall and her stomach was in knots, she was embarrassed and hurt she didn't know what was going on and Farah had confused her once again. Her violet eyes glimmering with tears that had a hint of purple themselves she tried to blink them away but that just caused them to stream down her cheeks, but her hands quickly moved to wipe them away she hadn't even noticed Farah had gone until she looked back over and was met with an empty rooftop.
As Farah walked away, she winced and wrapped her arms around her stomach. She felt horrible. She knew she shouldn’t have done that to Mara only to yank herself away before anything real could happen. But… did Farah want it to happen?
Yes. The answer flew into her mind so quickly it shocked her. Yes, she had wanted something to happen, and yes, she had wanted to kiss Mara. Farah sighed softly. But the further she got away from Mara, the more she felt the other woman’s emotions. Embarrassment, hurt, and confusion overwhelmed Farah, so much so that as she reached for the ladder, her hand drew back. And she felt something else, something more veiled. Doubts and, at the root of them, desire. Mara did want her, on some level at the very least.
Without sensible reasoning, Farah rushed back over the rooftop, hurriedly knelt down beside Mara, and cupped the other woman’s face ever so gently in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I believe that we both misinterpreted the situation. Let me see if I am right.”
With that, the hero leaned in and kissed her enemy.
Mara had quickly wiped away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks when she had heard somebody coming back up the latter she barely had time to turn towards whoever was coming at her before she was grabbed by the face.
She gasped but we she saw who had her, she felt nauseous and yet again she was confused, was this her new hobby? Confusing her? Mara's eye brows knitted together as the hero looked at her while she was vulnerable, it angered her, but before she could say anything Farah was kissing her.
The world felt as if it didn't exist, it had faded away. There was a slight twinge of fear but that faded away eventually too. Mara had let her guard down fully now, her hand moving to farah's chin and tilting the girls head up jus slightly enough for her to deepen the kiss, her eyes fluttering closed. Her heart had been beating a mile a minute but it didn't matter she didn't care, for once in her life she was doing something that didn't feel wrong, she wasn't hurting anyone or herself.
Farah’s heart broke as she took in the tear tracks on Mara’s cheeks. She absently stroked her thumb across her soft skin to wipe them away. Though a wave of nausea and stronger confusion overcame her, Farah knew that what she was doing and what she felt were important and true.
As Farah kissed Mara, she was hesitant and gentle. If Mara didn’t want this, she could pull away any time. But… if she did want this… that meant—
The woman’s touch on her chin to deepen the kiss made Farah weak. But she had her answer. So, putting it all on the line, she accepted the motion Mara offered and moved her lips a bit more over Mara’s. The passion was building in Farah, but before she could act on it any longer, she broke away, gasping for breath. Her lungs were burning with desperation, and she gazed at Mara with softened brown eyes.
“Yes,” Farah murmured, a small knowing smile on her lips. “I do believe I was right.”
Mara could barely control her thoughts, they were almost sinful, it made her blush she had never thought of anyone like this before.
When farah pulled away Mara did as well, her face was red and her eyes were bring purple and her chest was rising and falling rapidly.
"I- um…. You- shit." Mara fell back and cupped her face with her hands before bringing her hands up and running her fingers along her scalp avoiding eye contact with Farah.
Her eyes were still glowing they were almost pulsating "you read my thoughts- that's why you came back, isn't it?" She almost sounded embarrassed like a teenager who had just asked out their crush and was rejected.
"Farah…" She could barely hold together a sentence she kept tripping over her words and stuttering, she groaned realizing that she really was just making this worse than what it was.
She looked up at Farah her eyes digging into the other girls like daggers, "I'm completely making a fool out of myself aren't I?" She asked with and awkward smile as she rubbed that back of her neck.
She definitely looked like this was her first kiss, it didn't take a genius to tell, she was sweating and her breathing made her sound like she just got finished running a marathon, her heart doing the same.
(EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF LOOK AT MY FANCY REPLY BABE!!!!!!!!!!!!)
