Chapter Text
Enid stares at the laptop in front of her unblinkingly. Research notes are laying around her on the couch and the coffee table in between empty cups. She’s willing fingers on the keyboard to move but they stay still. If she closes her hurting eyes even for a second they might not open again for hours. Panic rises in her with each passing minute of stillness.
She has full research, arguments written out, and a draft with professor’s feedback and the extended deadline is soon and all she can do is stay still. Mind empty and about to give up. She just needs to finish this one paper and her winter break can start. If she will do this one, practiced, simple thing. Paper, one email and she’s free to rest-
No, it’s Christmas break. Going back to the family house is the furthest from a restful break. Remarks about her fashion and conservative fights and and religious rituals she doesn’t believe in and on top of it all stupid effing asks where’s a girlfriend if she’s so gay and successfully dating.
Girlfriend that she doesn’t have. Just a short string of first dates last year of college that failed to do their job of getting over-
Maybe getting disowned would be easier. ‘It would be fine if you’re gay BUT you aren’t really are you’ was the last reaction she expected somehow. Stupidly because supposedly she’s lucky that all of the rare guys she went out with weren't biphobic. Happy bubble they say. Expecting only the extremes of disownment or total acceptance was stupid they say.
Why the hell did she have to lie about having a girlfriend. Heightened heartbeat starts pushing tears into her eyes and she blinks, once.
What if she just doesn’t write this paper and ask for another extension plus extra work to make up for it. So she would have to stay home over the holidays. Just home alone, miserable over more homework but at least away from holiday bullshit. Alone. No roommate because she has her own family plans.
It’s not like the fact that it being even too late for Wednesday to be up is the reason why she can’t write anything anymore. Even moving to the living room didn’t work. And so being alone, with other friends also away, would make this paper unwritable anyway.
But it will be fine.
She can close her eyes for just a second. A minute. If she still can’t write after five minutes she can give up. For just a bit. She leans back on the couch. Her eyes hurt so much. Sweet relief.
Clacks of a keyboard. Oh, it worked. She stares at the words appearing on the screen. It’s hard to read. They appear so quickly. Her neck hurts from angling to see. She’s looking sideways.
Wait, those aren’t her hands. She doesn’t have black nails.
She picks her head up from the stiff shoulder to look to her side.
“Wens?”
“Go back to sleep.” The low voice expects no objection.
“Okay.”
Wednesday is here so it’s fine. And there’s a blanket around her. Enid closes her eyes and puts her head back onto the dark clothed shoulder. Her legs curl up and she leans further into the body next to her. Smell of dead roses lulls her to sleep. She dreams of cold fingers carding through her hair and unintelligible soft words.
First thing she feels when waking up is pain in her neck and back.
The second thing she feels is complete dread over the deadline.
She jumps up to the desk next to the bed she was lying in.
No laptop. Oh no, no, no.
She runs into the hallway and lurches towards the coffee table. Screen immediately turns on as if it was never fully turned off.
Document with way too many pages gapes back at her.
She doesn’t remember writing that.
She slowly turns on her email. No new emails sent out in the past 24 hours. More confusion. She wouldn’t go back to bed without writing one, she’d nap on the couch at worst.
Her research notes are neatly arranged on the coffee table.
Wednesday.
Short dark figure is standing over her out of nowhere, sipping coffee.
Enid is too tense already to flinch at the silent surprise.
Wednesday finishes her swallow. “I couldn’t find the required citation style.”
“Huh?”
“I used Oxford. Read through the thing and adjust as much as you think is needed and I’ll make breakfast.”
And Wednesday is gone, as if she was never there in the first place. Leaving her with the plagiarized paper.
Is it plagiarism when it's a willing ghost writer? If not what is it?
A headache joins her pains.
Enid shuffles into the kitchen and stares at her cooking roommate. Pancake ingredients on the table.
Wednesday takes out a pan and turns to stare back. “Do I have to be in the room so you’ll focus?”
Enid doesn’t respond and just starts sniffling.
Wednesday groans. “Don’t make this face, your draft is safe in another file, I didn’t delete anything, if I was so off you probably still have time to use what I wrote as a template.”
“You wrote the whole thing for me.” Tears well up in her eyes.
“Now I’m trying to cook for you so stop interrupting me.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“Friends don’t have to be asked.” Wednesday says mockingly. “Now scram.”
“You wrote a perfect essay for meee.” Enid wails.
Wednesday stiffens up uncomfortably like a startled animal staring at the tears. “Enid- since when academic dishonesty bothers you this much, it’s just an elective. The purpose of the essay was just to prove that you read the assigned readings and paid attention which you clearly did, it's all just your research, you might as well have dictated the whole thing to me.”
“I have no idea what denouement meeeans.” Enid brushes off tears with the back of her hand.
“Then change it! I didn’t send it!”
Enid flinches and hiccups. “Nooo, don’t yell, I’m sooorry.”
Wednesday puts away the pan and slowly says “don’t apologize, just stop crying and go pass your class.”
“But I wanna hug you so muuuch.”
“Then do it and calm down.” Wednesday grits through her teeth.
“Nooo, I’m not upset, I’m just grateful but pushing boundaries isn’t gratitude. It’s noooot.”
Wednesday steps closer, rolling her eyes while grimacing. “Crying at me is worse.”
“I’m sooorryyy.”
Wednesday swears quietly in a foreign language and stiffly embraces Enid, pressing mostly with her forearms. The blonde clutches back and cries thank yous into her shoulder. With a sway to the rhythm of her thanks that melts the tension in the smaller body. And a choked giggle when Wednesday awkwardly pats her back saying ‘there there’.
When calmed Wednesday gives her a glass of water to replenish the water from tears.
“Enid.”
“Yeah?”
“My work will be useless if you don’t send it.”
“AH FUCK!” Enid skids back to her laptop.
Enid stares at the email back from the professor affirming that he got her work and will check it soon.
Her break can start now.
Oh god her break can start now.
Something heavy nests in her throat. She’s gonna have to go to family. And explain that she doesn’t have a girlfriend. Or that her girlfriend of many months doesn’t care to come with her. And then live through endless barrage of comments and bigoted talk and will have to do it alone-
A tear falls down her cheek and Wednesday stops heavily in the doorway. Enid can’t stop the pout from shaking when looking up.
Wednesday grimaces and turns back. “Absolutely not.”
So Enid sobs freely loud into the empty room. She sobs and sobs and sobs, and her head hurts so bad and she’s so alone and noone cares about her-
A hot mug is given into her hands. When she sniffles it smells of chocolate. And a bit spicy.
She buries her sobs into the mug of a delicious drink.
Last time she cried over it was when Wednesday made it for her for the first time, adding too much chili.
She had to run from the latina, cradling the mug in her hands, still taking sips while wincing and crying. It was too good to not drink despite the pain. The best hot chocolate she ever had in her life.
Now she’s only crying from the emotions and not flaming insides.
“What is it now?” Wednesday asks gravely, still standing over her
“I lied.” Enid answers wetly.
“You’re disabled and pay too much for the tuition to feel guilt over-”
“I lied to my mom about having a girlfriend.” Enid sniffles.
“...and?” Wednesday tenses for a moment.
“So when I come home for Christmas alone she will restart the ‘Enid isn’t really gay’ agenda.” More tears again so she rubs at her eyes.
“How much did you lie?” Wednesday asks sitting down.
“I- just mentioned last June in a phone call fight that I’m dating a woman to prove a point. Somehow. I don’t know. I think she got too sick to continue so I didn’t elaborate. And I-” Enid swallows heavily” I might have mentioned going on a date to cut a call short. Or being on a date. Maybe once when you were hearable in the background. Oh god.” She hides her face in hands.
“Only me?”
“Yeah I say it when I’m home, when I’m out I use going to a class excuse-”
Wednesday interrupts her in a contemplative tone “Do you need a perfect partner or a menace to make her regret budding into your dating life?” When Enid looks up at her the goth is looking far into distance, hand loosely over her mouth.
Enid squints at her before shaking her aching head and wincing “I- perfect partner I guess so she would shut up that only being with a man would make me happy. Or something. I don’t want to remember specific-”
“I can do that."
“What?” Enid mumbles, rubbing her forehead.
“Play a perfect partner.” Wednesday's head turns to stare
“... what?” Enid repeats faintly, with fingers to her temples.
Wednesday’s voice is casual but her eyes are intense. “I can be an objectively perfect romantic partner. We’re the same age, I’m attractive, more than able bodied, I have a successful career although I would have to reveal my pen name for that but even otherwise I’m independently wealthy anyway, well educated and I know etiquette to mask well enough. I can’t do anything about the inescapable impression of inhumanity but with my perfect manners complaining about that while sounding sane isn’t achievable. Then there’s atheism and Mexican heritage which could be problems according to your family. I doubt I can pass off as religious but if anyone asks I can just start speaking fluent French and talk about my European immigrant mother. Depends on how racist your family is.”
Pressing with fingers onto the head to make it work didn't help. She's been holding her breath too. “Wens- what- wait.”
“You stopped crying. Good.”
“You were joking to make me stop crying?”
“No. My offer is serious. As long as you won’t cry at me about it again.” Wednesday raises an eyebrow momentarily.
“But- you’re going back to your own family.”
“I can miss a few days of vacation in the Alps. Noone in my family celebrates Christmas so that’s not a problem”
“I’ve never seen you mask.”
Wednesday shrugs. “I never had to around you. I rarely ever care to but I can hold my tongue and hide my displeasure if I want to. Should be enough for briefly meeting parents.”
“You don’t like touch.”
“I tolerate yours. And-” Wednesday moves in closer to brush off Enid’s tears “my coldness towards others” she brings Enid’s hand up ”will contrast the ease with you,” and kisses it softly, holding eye contact “so little will be needed.”
The hostaged for ages air in Enid’s lungs finally goes free. Did that just happen? It can't be happening.
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You don’t have to.”
“You hate masking and my family will make at least one immigrant comment. And you- I- we-” Enid stumbles trying to voice the obvious problem.
“What?”
“In a perfect scenario we would have to kiss.”
“Are you that unattracted to me?”
In what world would that be a yes. Feeling of unreality seeps through the cranium and into her brain.
“No. It would just be unfair to make you tolerate kissing.”
“I don’t know.” Wednesday says carefully.
“You don’t know?” Enid echos.
“I don’t know if it would be unfair without trying. I don’t like hugging others from lived experiences.”
“Uh huh.” Doesn’t sound real. In what world someone as pretty Wednesday Addams didn’t kiss people before? How in the world that comes up only now after over a year and not at any moment when Enid was drunk around her? Is she drunk right now? She twists around to hold onto the back ledge of the couch.
“If checking is too daunting I can just kidnap you to the Alps instead.”
“ Alps? Checking?” she asks weakly.
“The Alps offer expires if you’ll cry too.”
“Checking.” Enid repeats dumbly. Kissing beats mountains as easy as choosing between eating chocolate or coal.
Dark eyes dart over her posture. “Are you about to faint?”
Enid shakes her head. “No. Checking now?”
“Do you have any other plans for today?”
In this world Enid would cancel everything and anything if she had.
Wednesday doesn’t flinch away when Enid cups her face. Nor does she resist adjustments to the angle. Nor does she push Enid away at the moment their lips touch. Nor does she-
“Put your hands on me.” Enid mumbles.
Small hands end up on her waist so she resumes getting Wednesday’s mouth to relax. It’s intoxicating when it works. She’s kissing Wednesday. Wednesday is kissing back. Awkwardly at first but steadily improving like the stupid, annoying, secretly sweet physical adept that Wednesday is and her lips are perfect and she responds well and tastes good and smells good and Enid could do this forever-
Enid stops abruptly. Dark eyes just stare back as she regains her breath.
This whole morning has been weird.
“I’m not dead am I?”
“I don’t particularly feel like killing you, no.”
That’s not what she meant. But that sounds in character so she might as well keep kissing the shockingly close to real Wednesday.
“Okay.”
Dream Wednesday doesn’t push her off. Even as Enid makes her way onto her lap. Only the smallest sigh in the world gets swallowed by her mouth and no word of objection.
If this is real Enid will become a professional liar for this to keep happening. Just constantly telling everyone that her hot roommate is her girlfriend and, wait, is the rest of her body as cold as her fingers?
Hands on her wrists stop her from getting under the dark shit. Enid freezes.
“Do you genuinely want to know this boundary?” Wednesday asks, their faces still close.
Movement and air against her lips is so distracting.
“What?”
Wednesday moves in closer, trapping their hands between them, to speak into her ear directly. “Is this necessary or-”
The sound hits her sensitive ear like a shock of lightning and Enid jumps away. Wednesday only softly holding her fingers at this distance.
Enid blinks repeatedly. Her ear itches. Wednesday in front of her is very real and her lips look very much kiss swollen. Oh god this is the real world. The blonde laughs nervously.“So do you know now or nah? Well, not all this is needed at most id cling to your side on a couch and not get ON your lap and you- yeah nothing beyond a short kiss will have to be needed- well you seem fine with receiving but would you be fine with initiating- WHAT AM I EVEN SAYING?”
Enid sits down on the floor and hides her head between her knees. Everything has been real. The whole conversation has been real. This is ridiculous. She's being ridiculous. She has to force herself to breathe calmly and not hyperventilate.
“Yes, I will be fine Enid.” Wednesday says.
“Nooo, you won’t.”
“What in our history so far suggests to you that I’m incapable of evolving to accommodate your needs?” There’s a hint of a hiss in the low voice.
Enid whines into the floor. She stretched the excuse to make out so thin. That’s the worst one she found to touch Wednesday yet. She wants to lie to find more to exploit so much and she shouldn’t because this is a literal devil on her shoulder talking. Where’s the damn angel? What’s the moral choice right now? It’s a miracle that Wednesday hasn’t called fraud and kicked her into affection jail forever.
“Enid, we know each other well and there will be no proof to suggest that I’m going with you for reasons other than the obvious.” Wednesday cards through Enid’s hair.
The blonde looks up at her pouting. Wednesday puts her fingers around Enid’s jaw to move it and make her staredown more straightforward. “So just make up your mind, introducing me as your girlfriend or calling your parents about how your girlfriend kidnapped you to Europe?”
Enid flexes her jaw against the cold touch. “And in Europe tell your parents what?”
“Whatever you wish for. And then your choice between skiing and skateboarding.”
Enid’s pout shakes again. “I’m gonna twist my ankle and you’re gonna abandon me for cryyying.”
“ Mierda, puta madre, salopard , I was being facetious about cheering you up. Will you stop that?” Wednesday grits her teeth and changes her hold to cupping Enid's face and pressing onto her bottom lip with thumb to keep it in place.
“How is it a joke if you legit get angry about me being upset?” Enid mumbles.
Wednesday's arms fall. “It’s like that one in which you get up and eat the pancakes waiting for you in the kitchen before you fail yet again at processing what’s happening.”
Enid swallows her further complaint as her mouth waters at the mention of food.
Pancakes and coffee healing her headache later Enid is fidgeting with the utensils under the dark glare. Wednesday is completely still against the counter, arms folded.
Enid takes a deep breath. In. and Out.
“My passport is at my parents’ place.”
Wednesday sighs and springs away from the counter. “Then get ready to go out.”
“Why?”
“I need to buy your family their gifts.”