Chapter Text
The hot, pulsating rhythms of the music filled the air, mingling with the smell of alcohol and bodies warmed by dancing. The club was crowded, as it always is on the weekend, and the lights reflected off the glasses and glittering dresses.
Mavuika had not planned to party that night. She already had it written into her schedule to eat crackers in front of the TV accompanied by a cheap reality show, and then she would go to bed early. But Tupac sent her a message that he is in town, and then called twice until she finally succumbed. It's not that earlier, after his first message, she started looking through her closet and pondering between several versions of black T-shirts and washed-out jeans.
“You have to stop being so easy to convince,” he threw in a greeting when she finally found him at the bar.
“And you need to stop thinking you're worth it,” she replied, smiling under her breath.
There was something familiar about it, as if they were revisiting conversations from years ago. They had known each other for a long time, although their relationship was complicated. They used to be close, then drifted apart, and now their paths had crossed again, although it wasn't entirely clear where that would lead.
“And seriously, why did you agree to come?” Tupac watched her as she fiddled with the straw in her drink.
“Because...” she sighed tilting her mouth to one side. “I wanted to see if you were still annoying me.”
The man laughed, and the sparks in his eyes twinkled.
“How was it? Did it work?”
Mavuika loved that laugh and missed it. She missed him so damn much, but she had to be consistent a little longer if she was going to pretend to be unavailable to his personal charms.
“I haven't decided yet. For the time being, I can stand you.”
And just like that they started talking as if nothing had happened between them. They talked about everything that had happened since their last meeting, gently skipping over that memorable evening in which everything went wrong. In which she was the one who ruined everything.
She shook her head, chasing the thought out of her head and tucking one of her red strands behind her ear. She wasn't going to dwell on it at the moment, especially when she had a drink in her hand and Tupac was laughing at something she said.
“And what about Hine? Is she still offended that you left?” Her eyes revived at this question.
“In part. She doesn't whine that often, and Sumeru and Natlan aren't that far away, so you know... I visit her sometimes.” She took a sip through a straw. “She also needs to understand that I'm an adult and I won't always be there for her, even if I wanted to.”
“And you remember how she once entered the room when...” he stopped talking seeing the girl's big eyes and burst out laughing.
“I don't think you'll ever let me forget that, especially that awkward dinner later. I swear I've never been as embarrassed as I was then.”
Tupac continued to laugh which attracted the attention of several people around them, and a memory flashed through her head again of how her five-year-old sister had entered her room during a rather close situation with her current friend. They weren't doing anything wrong, and Hine didn't see anything. For all intents and purposes, she couldn't even see anything, as they were merely kissing. To Mavuika's disadvantage, her shirt then rolled upwards, and Tupac took advantage of this fact to stroke her back, which did not escape the attention of the girl, who later at dinner asked in front of the whole family if her older sister was sick or had something on her back since her friend pulled off her shirt. She turned beet red and only years spent training in controlling magic kept the table from going up in flames. The family, of course, ignored her feverish explanations that nothing of that not happened. As a result, Mavuika had to have a serious conversation with her parents and learned to double-check the lock on the door.
“That was the worst ten minutes at the table I've ever experienced,” she commented while punching him in the arm as he continued to laugh.
“I can already see you planning revenge on her and the next family gathering you will do the same.”
“She is only thirteen!” retorted Mavuika taking the straw out of the glass and tilting it to drink what was left in one gulp. And then she laughed as well.
She hadn't felt so relaxed in weeks. Constant studying, training in mastering magic, work, and that's just a slice of her life. She didn't have it too easy, especially with her increasing magical instability and expectations from her family that she would stand as the strongest in their magic line in a tournament to become the Keeper of the Flame. She knew that at least in the latter, Tupac understood her.
The man stood up from his seat and extended his hand to her.
“Come dance.”
“Here?” She asked crossing her arms and looking around the dance floor.
“You know, dive bar are my style, but today I did my best. It's not that bad.”
She rolled her eyes, but gave him a hand jumping off her stool, and he pulled her to the dance floor finding a place to breathe.
They started with a slight distance from each other. She moved confidently, gracefully, completely in control. Tupac adapted to her rhythm, approaching gradually, inch by inch.
And finally they danced like in the old days - intense, close, with that familiar spark between them. She felt the warmth of his hand slide over her waist as they both fully surrendered to the music and the thick atmosphere of the club.
The man leaned in, and Mavuika felt his warm breath on her skin as he moved closer to her ear.
“Do you still think I'm annoying?”
She tossed her head to the side as if wondering, and then a cocky smile appeared on her face as she leaned in to answer him.
“Maybe a little less,” she called out trying to shout over the music.
She didn't know who kissed whom first. She was probably too sober for that, and so was he. And that should have scared her, but instead she let the moment flow. Which, of course, didn't stop her from having them sipping shots at the bar later, and then dancing again ignoring everyone around them and drowning in their kisses again.
***
As soon as the apartment door closed, Mavuika threw her leather jacket off her shoulders, tossing it carelessly onto an armchair. She then snapped, conjuring a few flaming sparks that began to float in the air illuminating the interior enough for her to see anything.
Tupac kept behind her looking around the interior. A few unfamiliar books and notebooks lay on the windowsill, there was a new picture on the refrigerator, and a thick green blanket lay on the couch, which wasn't there the last time he was here.
“Not much has changed here,” he muttered with a smile.
Mavuika turned away raising an eyebrow and at the same time correcting her hair, which fell over her face.
“Maybe it's because this is an apartment, not an art gallery.”
She reached into the cabinet pulling out two glasses. Then she turned to him again. Her head was humming slightly, but she felt fine.
“Would you like a drink?” She asked.
The man shrugged his shoulders and approached her, trying not to touch the flames floating in the air. When he was close to the girl he looked at the contents of the cabinet where a bottle of amber liquid stood between the glasses.
“Are you still drinking the same thing?” He asked, and his gaze first traveled down to her smiling face and then even lower to the neckline of her shirt as her breasts and shoulders jumped as she giggled.
“You know, it's not just the apartment that hasn't changed.” She turned around to take out the bottle and pour a bit of liquid into the glasses making Tupac finally take his eyes off her body. He stepped back and leaned against the countertop standing to her left.
“I thought meeting you would be strange.”
“And it is?” She asked handing him a glass. They clinked them as if they were making a toast. Tupac took a small sip, and Mavuika drank in a choke. Not that it was much, she poured them a little above the bottom.
“Maybe a little less.” He set the glass down, and she did the same. “I missed this.”
He embraced her. Mavuika didn’t resist.
“I missed the sarcasm.” He traced his thumb over her lower lip. “And that smile.” His gaze drifted down to her breasts again, but he decided to deal with that later and focused on her lips to kiss her.
The fading flames around them suddenly flared back to life.
***
Her head pulsed with a dull ache as she rolled to the other side, closing her eyelids to escape the morning light coming from the window. The sheet was tangled around her legs, and the warmth next to her and the quiet snoring suggested that she was not alone.
Mavuika muttered something under her breath in an attempt to ignore the annoying sound that had awakened her. The room was slightly smoky with alcohol and smoke. Somewhere in a corner stood an under-drank bottle of rum, but she didn't associate it with smoking. Other than that, last night was good. Casual. The kind she liked best.
Her fingers reached for the phone, which vibrated incessantly on the nightstand.
“Who the hell...,” she muttered in a hoarse voice, pushing the screen to her face. The screen showed one name: Citlali.
She furrowed her brow. She never called, it would be faster to send her a carrier pigeon than to reach for modern technology.
“Hm” Next to her, someone moved with a slight drag. The man raised his head yawning and propping himself up on his elbow. “Are you all right?”
She ignored him pressing the green handset and putting the phone to her ear.
“Citlali?” Her voice was still slightly hoarse, so she grunted.
“Mavuika.” The granny tone was strained. While earlier the girl told herself that it was nothing important, now she could not ignore what was happening. “You have to go back. Immediately.”
Mavuika blinked raising herself to a sitting position. Tupac watched her carefully sensing that the answer to his question was negative.
“What's going on?”
“Not on the phone. It's about your parents and Hine...” Citlali hesitated, and the redhead's heart clenched at the mention of her sister. “Just get back as soon as possible.”
The girl held her breath.
“What is going on?” she renewed her question.
“I'll explain when we meet, this is a serious matter. Coven will reimburse you for the tickets, you know where to find me.” The connection was interrupted, and she put the phone down on the nightstand, sticking her gaze into the wall in front of her.
“What's wrong?” Tupac's worried voice snapped her out of the panic that was beginning to encompass her body.
“I fucking wish I knew.”