The Librarian and the Assassin, a Sapphic Romance at the End of the World - 40. Chapter 40 - The Meet Cute

A week had passed since the Gria job.

It was morning, and the sun was rising over the island of Stonespire.

Tawni and Bix were asleep together in bed.

The world was quiet.

Tawni was the first to rise. She sat up and stretched. Her movements disturbed Bix, who groaned next to her. “Good morning, sugar,” Tawni whispered, leaning down and kissing Bix’s temple.

Bix’s eyes were still closed, and she grinned wide at the affection.

“Did you sleep well?” Tawni asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Bix hummed, and she nodded. She opened her eyes.

Tawni ran her fingers through Bix’s hair. “Tell me something happy from your childhood.”

Bix chuckled. “Okay, let me think. I don’t remember much about the very first ship I lived on, but from the time I was nine until I was thirteen, I lived on a ship that was wonderful. Our captain was quite a bit older, a survivor from before the plague, and she strongly held onto the ideals she believed in from the world before.” Bix sat upright as she continued. “She was definitely idolized by some of us, me included.” She let out an embarrassed laugh. “You know, in my journeys, I’ve come across cults. I hate to compare our captain to someone like a priestess or some sort of religious leader, but it kind of feels like I’m describing a cult. Her ship was nothing like that though. She believed in helping people, accepting and understanding people where they were in life. She talked about living peacefully, an anti-violent or pacifist message, and I loved listening to her talk. I was like a little sponge that absorbed everything she told me.”

“It sounds like a lot of what makes you you, Bix,” Tawni replied with a smile, “comes from this captain. She taught you to have a big heart, and that’s one of my favorite things about you!” Tawni pressed against Bix and nuzzled into one of her shoulders. “What was her name?”

Bix planted a firm kiss on Tawni’s forehead before answering. “Her name was Captain Eliala Mistborne, but we all called her Misty. Honestly, Tawni, I think the way you view the world is so pragmatic, so practical, like I’ve said before. I think my own belief in peace and goodness is kind of an elevated, unrealistic…” Bix laughed at herself as she concluded, “I don’t know… a utopian way, which’ll never come to be! I think I view life a little sunnier, and probably more naively than you.” Bix rolled her eyes. “And the ship I was on after Misty’s ship is when I got captured by the Fallandish nobles.”

“Why couldn’t you stay on the ship with her anymore?”

Bix let out a sigh. “She was much older, and she retired. Her crew disbanded, and her ship was sold. It was a heartbreaking time. I loved my life on her ship.” Bix exhaled another wistful breath.

“It sounds like it was really special,” Tawni replied quietly. She flashed Bix a grin. “So sugar, I want to go grab us coffees. Why don’t you stay in bed, and I’ll go get them for us?”

Bix wrapped her arms around Tawni. “That sounds lovely. Do you want me to come with you?”

“You stay cozy, and I’ll be back to you soon.”

Tawni climbed out of bed and reached her arms overhead. She was naked.

“Babe, do you know how hot you are?”

Tawni giggled as she pulled on some clothes. “Be right back!” she called as she headed into the hall and out onto the platform with the retractable ladder. She descended and began to make her way toward the café.

Tawni walked the length of one block, then another, and then a third, but a thin woman suddenly came around the corner of a building and bumped right into her. The woman’s purse fell to the pavement, and a stick of lip gloss, a compact, and a coin pouch came tumbling out onto the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” Tawni declared, kneeling with the woman to help her collect her spilled items.

“It’s alright,” she replied.

Tawni glanced up, but the stranger was looking down, and she was wearing a wide-brimmed, black hat that was blocking her face.

She sealed her purse again and raised her head to gaze into Tawni’s eyes.

Tawni’s breath caught.

The woman was stunning. Her appearance was almost waifish, and yet she looked strong and healthy. Tawni could tell that this beautiful stranger was similar to Pan Cakes and the other drag queens whom she had recently met, but Tawni was immediately aware that this woman was different. She was more like Miles Tone and Alotta Cox, who had been born female but were men. This lean and lovely woman before Tawni may have been born a boy, but she was all woman.

She reached out for Tawni’s hand and asked, “What’s your name?”

“It-it’s Tawni,” she replied in a breathy stutter.

The two women rose together with their eyes locked. “It’s so lovely to meet you, Tawni. And cute rainbowy nails!”

The purple and green nail polish Bix had originally painted on Tawni’s finger and toenails had long since chipped off, and Bix had insisted on repainting Tawni’s nails each with a different color.

Tawni wanted to tell the woman that she liked the tattoos on her knuckles, but no other words would leave her lips.

“Hate to do this,” the stranger added, “but I gotta run.” She winked and began to walk away, glancing over her shoulder and grinning at seeing Tawni’s eyes still on her.

Then the woman was gone, and Tawni was standing alone and feeling a little dazed. She shook herself and made it the rest of the way to the coffee shop. A few minutes later, she returned to her home with the warm beverages. She entered and made her way back to her bedroom, where Bix was waiting.

“That was quick,” Bix said as Tawni appeared, but she was suddenly confused. “Wait, how did you climb the ladder with those two coffees?”

Tawni laughed and handed one to Bix. “I didn’t. I’ve got a hoist system that allows me to raise stuff into my home that I can’t carry up the ladder. It’s farther into the alley beyond where the ladder is hidden. But Bix, I met a woman!”

Bix smirked. “Oooh fun! Tell me more.”

Tawni blushed and grinned stupidly. “I don’t know. I didn’t even catch her name, but she was really beautiful. She’s a…” Tawni paused as she tried to organize her thoughts. “Well, she’s like Alotta, but kind of the opposite.”

“Oh I see,” Bix replied. “She’s a trans woman. And you didn’t ask her name?”

“No,” Tawni admitted with a nervous laugh, “I was distracted by how pretty she was.”

Bix chuckled. “You’re so adorable when you’re embarrassed, Tawni.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Thanks for this, babe.”

“But Bix, she was so attractive.”

“I know,” Bix replied, starting to lose interest. She tried to change subjects. “What do you need to do today? Are there certain tasks we can work on together?”

Tawni wanted to answer Bix, but she could not get the gorgeous stranger out of her mind. “Yeah, erm… we could go to the shallows to see what we can find. Or maybe we should go foraging. I really wish I’d asked her name.”

Bix frowned. “What is it about her? You seem kind of fixated.”

“Bix, she was gorgeous!”

“There are beautiful women everywhere,” Bix said dismissively. “You know, you’re kind of making me jealous.”

Tawni’s face fell. “Oh no, Bix! That’s not what I meant at all! I’m so in love with you; I just thought she was really pretty… that’s all, and I thought you’d like to hear about her. I’m sorry.”

Bix took Tawni’s hand. “Your mind and heart work in different ways than mine do, but I love that about you, Tawni. I sometimes don’t understand what you feel, or why you think what you do, but I love you. I just don’t want to share your love with someone else.”

Tawni gasped. “Share my love? I only love you, Bix.” She raised an eyebrow in thought. “You didn’t seem to mind when Alotta kissed me, and if someone kissed you, I wouldn’t be jealous.”

Bix’s frown became sadder. “Do you want to kiss that woman who you just met?”

Tawni blushed even more. “I don’t know,” she mumbled, even though she and Bix both knew that she did want to kiss the transgender woman.

Bix was hurt, and Tawni could see it in her face.

“No, Bix! Please, don’t be upset. I couldn’t help feeling what I felt! I’m sorry.” Tawni’s eyes began to well with tears. “Should I have kept my thoughts to myself and not told you?” she asked as she started to cry.

“Tawni, I’m yours, but I want you to be mine, no one else’s.”

“I am,” Tawni replied in a shuddering voice. “I am yours, Bix.”

The pair did not speak for several minutes.

“Tawni, relationships are tricky things,” Bix stated, “but I think as long as we have open communication, we’ll be okay. You know, the relationship between Pan Cakes and her partner is unique, and when she mentioned the dynamics of it to me back when I first met her, it didn’t make sense to me. Maybe we should tell her how you’re feeling and see what she thinks.”

Tawni looked up at Bix through her tears and nodded. “I’m sorry, Bix. I don’t mean for my thoughts and feelings to upset you, and I’m so sorry they sometimes do, but I love you.”

Bix set down her cup of coffee and wrapped her arms around Tawni. “I know you do.”