The sleepover

by gata20

Summary:

Chai decides that the gang should have a sleepover at the hideout and at the same time Peppermint is trying not to give away her feelings for Korsica. Things don't go as planned...

Notes:

Hey guys. Hope you like to read this chapter. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it got so big I had to separate into chapters. The following chapters will be uploaded soon.

Chapter 1: Chai has an idea

They say love is a force that can reshape the very fabric of one's being and Peppermint didn't believe such nonsense until she herself fell in love. At first it was a simple crush like any other she had throughout her life. They all came and went, but this one specifically refused to go away. Months have passed since her infatuation with Korsica started and such wouldn't be a problem if it hadn't actually shaped how she acted. Her love for korsica molded her into a version of herself she never thought possible and the worst part of it was how oblivious the older woman was to it all. At least that's what it seemed.

Peppermint was not the anxious type and she never felt emotionally vulnerable on a romantic level in her life before. Her heart was simply flooding with a torrent of joy, affection, as well as dread. Dread of what could happen if Korsica ever found out about her crush… no… about her love for her.

It was very clear it wasn't a crush anymore and although Peppermint had accepted that a long time ago, it surely didn't make things easier, it was quite the opposite in fact. She couldn't focus on her work, couldn't be next to Korsica without her body embarrassingly reacting to her presence in many different ways and she desperately wanted to be close to her whenever possible. It got to the point her heart hurt when the redhead couldn't have lunch with her or talk at all due to being busy with her job. Being the Head of Security was a great honor, but it also brought a lot of responsibility, paperwork and forced Korsica to spend extra hours at the office — the woman made it clear she loved her job, although all that was overwhelming for her sometimes.

At least she was slowly learning to take it easy and didn't work on the weekends unless strictly necessary, which was a plus for Peppermint because that way she could spend more time with her. Korsica made it clear that she preferred to spend most of her free time with her friends, rather than doing something else and for that Peppermint considered herself lucky. Although it was always disappointing when she decided to warn them on the group chat that she couldn't attend their hangouts due to being too tired and needing some time for herself.

There was a duality in Peppermint’s mind. On one hand she wanted Korsica close, very close… but on the other it was a relief she wasn't, simply because that way there was no chance of screwing up their friendship with her antics. She could tell that woman had softened the rough edges of her persona, as Korsica always incentivized her to be more level-headed, which was clearly showing, although it was still a work in progress that would take time to be totally fruitious. Despite all that she was still prone to frustration and aggressiveness, at least towards her work or herself and today was no different.

“God damn it! Why can't I come up with anything new?” Peppermint complained, shoving her tolls on the floor. “This is pointless. My mind is blocked!”

Roxanne knew Peppermint didn't want to work for the company for now, still she got a room for her to calmly work in but it didn't matter. Her mind was too occupied with her love life and she just wanted to spend time with Korsica rather than staying hours inside a room creating “things”. She did want to create something, but it was alongside Korsica.

‘I better just go check if the R&D department needs help with something… at least it will be more productive than this.’ She thought. 

Since she wasn't an official employee in her mother's company, Peppermint didn't have an actual salary. Not like she needed it because her mother insisted on paying the bills of her cubicle she called home. Her mother really wanted to compensate for not being as present as she should have been those past years and Peppermint appreciated it, although it still didn't sit well with her, so she ended up offering her skills and intelligence to whoever needed them. She even handed over her email so anyone could let her know she was needed, in case something required to be repaired or built. Her personal projects ended up in the second plan due to all this most of the time but she didn't really mind. It was actually a bit hard to come up with something new that her mother hadn't created already.

That thought made her look around the messy room she was in. She really had to clean up before leaving. Her outbursts didn't do her any good — they just gave her even more work. 

She crouched down and started picking up the many things cluttering the floor. There were wrenches, screwdrivers, schematics, gears and many other things so it would take a while to put everything in its right place.

“Woah! Did a hurricane just come through here?” A voice asked with a hint of humor in it a few minutes later.

Peppermint's brain recognized who that melodious voice belonged to right away, so much so she quickly got up without realizing she was under the table and hit her head in the process.

“God damn it!” She cursed loud and clear, rubbing the back of her head in pain.

“Oh my. Are you alright Peppermint? Sorry I didn't want to startle you.” The worried voice hurried over, kneeling down next to her to check if she was alright.

“Ye-yeah… I'm fine Korsica. It happens.”

The woman cupped her cheeks and scrutinized her head, trying to look for any injuries. Unfortunately all that was doing was making her face temperature rise and the young woman only wished Korsica wouldn't notice. She was literally looking at her more intensely than she expected.

“Huh… Korsica?” Peppermint started. “I just hit my head. The worst that can happen is getting a bump.”

The older woman let go of her face immediately, looking uncomfortable.

“Right. I'm sorry for showing up without previous notice.” The redhead turned her attention to the stuff on the floor and mimicked what Peppermint was doing before getting unceremoniously interrupted by her.

“It’s fine Korsica. You can show up whenever you'd like. I… enjoy your company.” She shyly admitted, finally standing up.

“That's a relief actually. Didn't want to be an inconvenience.” Korsica did the same, placing what she had picked up on top of the table right after.

“You worry too much. What brings you here anyway?”

“Oh. Just thought about checking on you and since it's almost lunch time I wondered if you wanted to eat together?”

Peppermint’s brain just translated that as a date and she couldn't be further from the reality. Still her reaction was exaggeratedly enthusiastic.

“Yes! Of course I want to have lunch with you!” When she noticed Korsica's eyes wide open at her statement, she tried to play it cool. “I mean… sure let's eat. I'm starving.” She was lying about that last part, since it was still a bit early for lunch.

“Fantastic! I really need to eat something substantial or I will surely pass out. I haven't eaten anything this morning and I doubt coffee is a good diet.” Korsica pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling rather exhausted already despite still having a couple of working hours ahead of her.

“Too much work?” Peppermint asked with a worried tone.

“Sometimes I rarely have time to take a break… thanks to all the incompetent TEC-78 wandering around the Security Department… they struggle to keep things in top shape.”

Both of them continued their conversation as Peppermint made sure everything was in place before closing the room behind them.

“Yeah I heard my mother doesn't want to disassemble them although she discontinued their production.”

“They just make my work much harder…” The redhead couldn't stress that enough.

Peppermint patted Korsica reassuringly on the shoulder as they moved forward towards the cafeteria. Neither of them needed to mention the elephant in the room. They were both aware the model TEC-78 was designed after Kale got in charge and Roxanne didn't want to erase them from existence. She lost a son after all and despite him being evil he was still her son.

“I'm here if you ever want to talk about your problems.” The Security Head stated like she had read Peppermint's mind.

“I should be the one telling you that, Korsica. You went through a lot…”

“Don't devalue yourself. We both did to some extent.” The older woman said while ruffling Peppermint’s already disheveled hair.

She couldn't tell if Korsica's affection was sisterly or more than that. Regardless, she loved every gesture.

When they stepped inside the cafeteria it was clear it was still early due to how empty it was. Only one or two people could be seen eating there as well as some robots, although Peppermint was sure they didn't need to indulge in such activity. Her mother's obsession with making them act as humanly as possible was something both impressive and weird. 808 had no such feature incorporated in her and she could fairly say she didn't need it.

“You should sit down and rest a bit, Korsica. I'll order our food.” The young woman beckoned her to sit on one of the tables on a corner far from prying eyes.

“I didn't even tell you what I'm going to eat.” She demurred.

“The usual right?”

“Huh… yes.” Korsica was taken aback by Peppermint's attention to what she usually ate. “I have to pay though.”

"Leave that to me. I won't be long.”

“That's very considerate of you, but you don't need to do that Peppermint.”

“I want to do it.” Peppermint said with a bright smile plastered on her face.

That got a genuine smile out of Korsica in return, however fleeting when she noticed them sharing long-lasting eye contact. She rapidly averted her gaze and walked towards the table, leaving Peppermint both confused and flustered at the same time.

The platinum blonde decided to shrug it off and order their meals instead. As she waited for the chef to hand over the food, she took a glance at Korsica and found her sitting with her back turned at her. Was Korsica trying to avoid looking at her? She wondered if she was overthinking such a matter.

“Enjoy your food!” A WA-ES-2 declared as it gave her both trays filled with food.

“Thanks.”

She made her way to Korsica right after, proudly placing both trays on the table but as soon as she did, Korsica jumped in place.

“You alright?” She asked while sitting across from her.

“Yeah. I just nearly dozed off it seems.”

“You're that tired already?”

“I should be wide awake but decaf does that to you… and I haven't slept very well every night so there's that.”

“Why is that?”

Korsica grabbed her cutlery, avoiding Peppermint's gaze and started eating her food as best she could, albeit her hands weren’t cooperating as they should. There was definitely something wrong with her arm stabilizers but she didn't want to bother the blonde with it.

“It's not important.” She bluntly replied. Kicking herself internally for sounding so rude.

The robotic genius scanned the woman in front of her, catching her hands trembling a little as she struggled to keep her grasp on the cutlery.

“If there's something I can help you with…” Peppermint added quietly, after some moments of silence.

Korsica realized that she’d been probably doing a poor job at hiding her struggles. Peppermint had a good eye for detail and hardly something like that would pass her by.

“I'm fine, Peppermint! Just… let's eat alright? I don't want to think about what's wrong with me.” Stumbling over her words, Korsica retorted.

Peppermint hated to see Korsica shutting her out but there was nothing she could do. It was best not to annoy her any further when she looked frustrated already.

They simply continued eating their food in silence and Peppermint couldn't stop feeling tense about their small argument, if she could even call it that.

When they were almost finished her phone beeped, meaning she had gotten a new message. Apparently Korsica got one as well, which could only mean one of their friends was contacting them through the group chat.

When she checked her phone she saw a message from Chai pop up — he was asking if anyone wanted to eat lunch with him. Unfortunately for him they were both almost ready to get back to work but despite that Peppermint replied saying she and Korsica were still in the cafeteria. Macaron replied soon after saying he wouldn't be able to make it in time since he was too busy that day. As usual CNMN would stay by Macaron's side, providing assistance.

“If you hurry you might still find us here, Chai.”

As annoying as he could be, Chai was still a bubbly good friend to have around. Peppermint hated to admit it but he was growing on her.

“Oh yeah! I will be there in a minute! Don't bail on me! Also don't sweat it Macaron we can have lunch another day!”

Since Peppermint replied for both of them, Korsica didn't bother giving any feedback. She doubted she could write a consistent message without mistakes with how shaky her hands were at the time. Lately they randomly did this annoying shaking movement and she couldn't control her hands. That usually just happened when she took off her arm stabilizers but now it was happening even with them on. This could probably be easily solved, however she didn't want to give Peppermint even more work, she probably had a lot on her plate already.

It didn't take long for Chai to barge into the cafeteria like he owned the place, with 808 floating beside him. Her cat spent most of her time with Chai than with her lately but she couldn't really compete. 

Peppermint was glad he didn't take long to arrive because that silence between her and Korsica was driving her insane. Neither of them were used to that.

Upon seeing them, the brunette cheerfully waved his hand at them, while 808 rushed to her creator to greet them. 808 turned back to her cat form allowing both of them to pet her in her favorite spots, which they gladly obliged.

Then both women watched as Chai ordered his food, proudly showing off his Project Armstrong's ambassador card to the chef as usual. Although he wasn't paid in money for his job as ambassador, he still got free food all week and a small place to live in. It was to Peppermint's knowledge that Chai only came to the island to get his robotic arm, so it was only natural he needed a place to stay after accepting Roxanne's offer. Something the old woman didn't mind providing in return.

Eventually he joined them on the table with a tray incredibly stacked with food. He sat next to Korsica and Peppermint couldn't stop a feeling of jealousy from taking over but she knew it wasn't justified.

“Good afternoon ladies. Your ambassador has arrived!”

Peppermint rolled her eyes at that statement.

“You're not ‘our’ ambassador, but it's good to see you're taking your job seriously.” 

“You bet I am. I can't lose the opportunity to eat all the food I want and… of course influence people to join Project Armstrong. That still sounds off, but meh.”

“Well you're supposed to advertise and convince people that Project Armstrong is a good choice for them so I can see what you mean.” Korsica explained.

Although the Vandelay company wants to make people's lives better, at the end of the day they were still a business and needed to make money, so Chai was simply a means to an end. At least it wasn't as predatory as Kale's evil plan and Chai could be productive this way.

“Anyway, the weekend is upon us! Do you have any plans? Because if not I sure do!” He asked as he stuffed food in his mouth, resembling a chipmunk.

“I actually leave the hangout ideas for you Chai. I'm not good with that kind of thing.” Korsica admitted.

“I would probably keep working on my own projects over the weekend… but I'm not really having results right now so I doubt I will anytime soon.”

“Don't use the word weekend and work on the same sentence please.” Chai chided the blonde with annoyance after swallowing another mouthful. 

“Well what's your amazing idea?” Peppermint raised an eyebrow, curious about what he had in store for them.

“Alright, so.” He cleared his throat and then began explaining his idea. “I had a dream with onesies and we were all wearing one! So my proposal is for us to get a onesie of our choice and spend one day together watching movies, eating junk food and playing video games. Karaoke can be included too! I already talked with Macaron and CNMN and they are in.”

“That's the most st-” Before Peppermint could finish her sentence, Korsica beat her to it.

“That sounds like fun. I could use a day where I just relax. Wearing baggy comfortable clothes is a plus.” Korsica said with a dreamy expression on her face.

“That's what I was going to say, definitely.” The blonde let out an awkward laugh, trying to sound natural. She wasn't going to say no to any opportunities that allowed her to spend time with Korsica, that was for sure.

“I'm pretty sure it wasn't.”

Peppermint only glared at Chai and kicked him on the leg under the table, making him jerk in his seat and grimace in pain.

“What was that for?!” 

“Shut up, Chai.” She replied through gritted teeth.

Korsica simply watched that unfold in utter confusion and then looked at the clock hanging on the wall. For as much as she was enjoying their company, she had work to do.

“Anyway. It was nice chatting with you both but I have to get back to work. There's a lot of stuff I still have to take care of for the day.” Korsica stood up from her seat. “Keep me updated on the details, Chai.”

“Will do. Also don't forget to bring the onesie!” He pointed at her when he recovered from the stinging pain emanating from his leg.

Korsica simply nodded, then turned her attention to Peppermint. She reached out, resting her hand on top of hers, but just for a moment, before drawing back.

“Sorry about before… you don't need to worry about me.”

“Don't worry about it, Korsica. It's fine.”

The older woman nodded half-heartedly and then turned around. She raised her hand at them both, bidding them goodbye and made her way to her office once more, leaving both of them alone.

“We should probably do this event in the hideout.” He said after resuming his meal.

“That's an odd place for a sleepover, Chai.”

“I would love to take you all to my place but you know we wouldn't fit.”

Chai's place was very small and pretty much just had enough space for a bed and a restroom.

“Fine. We can spend the time there, it's not like we haven't spent the night there before.”

“Cool! I didn't even need to use my secret weapon to convince you.”

“What secret weapon?”

“808's irresistible looks. Nobody says no to that face.” Chai declared while pointing gun fingers at 808 who like on cue made a cute pose on top of the table.

“Hey! No pets on the table!” The chef robot protested from afar when he noticed the cat.

“She doesn’t even have actual fur, dude!” Chai blurted out.

“Resembles a cat, can't be on the table!”

Peppermint wasn't feeling like getting herself into an argument, unlike Chai, so she picked up 808 and placed her on the floor, much to the cat's dissatisfaction.

“Such strict rules, they need to chill.”

“Don't bother. Better not to get them angry.”

“Yeah you're right. Anyway, how are you dealing with your crush?”

“What?!” 

“The crush you have on Korsica. When will you make a move?”

Peppermint stood up in a flash, slapping her hands on the table, outraged about Chai's perceptiveness.

“How do you know about that?”

“I might be stupid but I have eyes to look around, Peppermint. You're pretty obvious.”

“Obvious? Do you think Korsica knows?” Peppermint looked around in despair, afraid she had been too transparent about her feelings for the older woman.

“Doesn't look like it.” 

“So you noticed but she didn't?”

Chai shrugged and kept eating his food nonchalantly, while Peppermint slumped on her seat, holding her head in her hands as she stared at the white wood of the table.

“This is so embarrassing…” She whined.

“Not really. You haven't made a fool of yourself that I'm aware of so you're good.”

“Argh… I want to be with her so much…” Peppermint slipped the truth, feeling instantly relieved after letting out those words.

“You're so down bad for her, huh?”

“I don't know what to do.” Peppermint mumbled, looking terribly sheepish.

“Well why not just go for it and try your luck?” He suggested.

“I don't even know if she's seeing someone…” She declared with a pained expression on her face.

“You honestly think that? She basically spends all her time working and when she's free, she is with us.” He reminded her while giving another bite on his food.

“She might be living with someone already?” Peppermint came up with that just now, but it made her heart sink all the same.

“Doubt it.” 

Peppermint continued coming up with excuses.

“She's much older than me. She probably doesn't even see me as dating material.”

"Many relationship's have a huge gap. You wouldn't be the first nor the last. I would be more concerned with Korsica's interest in dating as a whole.”

“What do you mean?”

“She never talks about men or women in an unprofessional way. She never gave away what she feels or what interests her.”

Chai’s words made her grow even more anxious. She had never questioned herself if Korsica might or not like women in the first place, until now…

“She might not even be into women. This is a disaster…” Peppermint laid her forehead against the table, feeling hopeless.

“Hey don't be like that. You will never know if you don't try finding out.” He said with a smile. 

Peppermint smiled back, catching on to what he really meant. In all honesty Peppermint didn't know what would be worse: never confessing and therefore not finding out if Korsica was into her, or confessing and getting rejected.

“Yeah I think I would rather live without knowing…”

“You're no fun. Why not think about the positive outcome? You know, the one where you confess and Korsica is totally into you too?”

Her face heated up as her mind started drifting to hundreds of scenarios where they were together. She promptly raised her head and took her hands to her cheeks. She felt conscious of the way she acted. She was still so young and she hated how she resembled a teenager reacting to their crush. Korsica would probably not like that about a partner. She might want someone more mature, but she was mature. She just didn't exactly know how to manage that huge feeling of longing towards her.

“Don't say things like that. I can't handle it. Just thinking about being with her feels like I'll burst.”

Chai rubbed his chin for a minute, clearly thinking hard about something. Then he snapped his robotic fingers.

“I know! My plan for the weekend is perfect for setting the mood. You will be having fun in a cozy environment and something might bloom from that.”

“That could work better if you and the others weren’t there…” She grumbled.

“You have nothing to lose either way. You can share some gossip and might even open up your hearts to one another in the process. That kind of girl stuff.”

Peppermint scoffed.

“Girl stuff? You guys should also talk about your feelings, you know that right?”

“I actually do. With 808. She's my confidant.” He replied absentmindedly.

“I should totally check her database to find out your juicy secrets then.”

“You wouldn't!” Chai tensed up, realizing he might have messed up by saying too much.

She wasn't that evil, although she could honestly listen to all the recordings 808 had.

“After you read my diary, that was what you deserved but I'm just messing with you.”

The brunette let out a sigh of relief and even rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

“You scared me there for a second.” 

The blonde didn't reply. She didn't need to when the smug look in her face did the talking for her.

Chai spent the following minutes finishing his food and talking about how eager he was for the weekend. He claimed he had the perfect clothing for the occasion, however he refused to tell what the onesie looked like. He even recommended a good store to buy onesies and considering Peppermint had none, much due to them not being her preferred type of clothes, his suggestion was appreciated. If she had to buy one, at least it better be something she will wear more than once. She would have to check out that shop later that day or tomorrow at the latest, as Saturday was soon approaching. Finding something that fitted 808 would be a challenge as well, but hopefully she would find something.

She still couldn't believe she was going along with Chai’s silly idea, all because Korsica agreed. The redhead simply had no idea how much power she had over her.

With lunch time over, Chai went on his way with the promise of keeping her updated about everything related to the fun day they would be having and Peppermint did the same. This time 808 followed her creator and Chai didn't mind. Her cat mostly did what she wanted whenever she wanted and that included keeping company to whoever she desired. Despite going with her, 808 didn't pay her much attention and ended up sleeping in every room she eventually stopped by to provide assistance.

Although Peppermint was busy the rest of the day and following day, her mind still couldn't fully focus on any task she performed. She dared say her mind was in a bigger turmoil than before which made everything far worse. The conversation she had with Chai the other day really made her think. Despite being in love with Korsica she never really asked herself the important questions: did she have a boyfriend? Did she live with someone? Did she even like women? For all she knew, being in love with Korsica could completely backfire if she got to the point of confessing.

Due to all this Peppermint gave up and completely postponed her original projects for the time being. Achieving another genius invention like 808 didn't happen twice it seemed. It was pointless at that point so she focused only on reducing the workload of other employees to make herself useful.

In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived and Peppermint was ready. Not emotionally but definitely in terms of supplies. Her bag was bursting at the seams, filled with her and 808's onesies, some spare underwear, snacks and a sleeping bag as well as one blanket. The hideout had two sofas but at the end of the day someone would have to sleep on the floor — It was inevitable but she was prepared in case it had to be her.

Chai texted everyone saying he would take care of the entertainment so that was one less thing for Peppermint to worry about.

It was time for them to go but as Peppermint stood before the door, she hesitated. 808 who was perched on Peppermint's shoulder, bumped her head against her creator's cheek when noticing her apprehension, supposedly trying to convey reassurance. Peppermint thanked for her support and after taking a deep breath she finally got enough courage to open the door.

“It's time 808. Can't leave our friends waiting, especially Korsica.”

Chapter 2: Onesie day

Everyone was already at the hideout when Peppermint got there. She honestly expected Chai to arrive last but turns out he could be as punctual as anyone else when he wanted to be. Korsica and Macaron were tattling and chattering and CNMN was already getting dressed with what seemed to be a hotdog costume — apparently there were no actual onesies that fitted his robotic body. 

Chai was so busy taking things out of his backpack that he didn't even bother looking at Peppermint, simply greeting her without taking his eyes from the task in his hands. To her he was simply scattering everything over the floor. There was a console of some sort, bottles of booze and a lot of junk food which all caught Peppermint's attention. According to the messages they exchanged Macaron was responsible for the karaoke set as well. Chai really planned everything out. It would be a long, tiring day but hopefully fun too.

She greeted the rest of the group and approached Korsica who was sitting on the green couch with her legs crossed. 808 was bold enough to run up to the redhead as soon as her eyes fell on her, headbutting her leg and Korsica greeted her with a much appreciated pet — Peppermint envied her cat at that moment.

After eyeing Korsica up as subtly as she could muster it was obvious the older woman managed to look stunning in every outfit she wore and this time was no exception. She was wearing a casual green and white jacket, pink sneakers and shorts but what surprised her the most was seeing the custom 808 headphones she offered her as a gift for her birthday, resting around her neck.

‘I can't believe she is actually wearing that!’ Peppermint thought, screaming internally with delight.

“Good morning, Peppermint. For a moment I thought something had happened.” Korsica stood up and wrapped her arms around the much shorter woman. Something Peppermint didn't complain about but didn't expect either.

“Yeah sorry. I got a bit sidetracked with… stuff.”

By stuff, she meant picking the right clothes for the day. She wanted to leave Korsica in awe but at the same time wanted to be subtle. Daydreaming about the woman in front of her was also a factor for arriving late.

“Someone is in a good mood though.” Peppermint pointed out when she noticed they were still sharing a lingering embrace.

Korsica pulled away and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. Peppermint already missed the warmth emanating from her body and kicked herself for ruining the moment.

“Oh, sorry. Got carried away for a second. I'm looking forward to all the fun we can have today.”

“Yeah Chai has some good ideas sometimes.” Macaron joined in, smiling broadly at them.

“I heard that Macaron! My ideas are always great!” Chai rebuked from afar, pointing a finger at the man while he hoisted a shark onesie with the other. The hood had fake teeth sewed to it, giving it a cooler look.

“Mister Chai, is it time for everyone to get dressed now?”

“Absolutely CNMN. I'm surprised you beat me to it.”

“That's because I'm very excited for what this day will entail, Mister Chai.” CNMN exclaimed, scribbling large excited eyes onto his face. 

“You want us to get into our onesies now?” Peppermint asked, surprised she wouldn't be able to show off her clothes for a while longer.

“It's a onesie day. Of course it has to be now.” Chai stated what should be obvious.

They all agreed with it so now they had to commit. Unfortunately Chai and Peppermint completely forgot that there was no place for them to switch clothes in the hideout, with privacy that is. Although they could keep their underwear they still had to take off their clothes, which could be embarrassing.

“I know. We can just turn around while you get dressed and vice versa. There's no reason to get shy about it.”

“That's a good idea, Macaron.” Korsica said.

“I would agree but can we really trust Chai not to peek?” Peppermint teased.

Chai took his hand to his chest and gasped exaggeratedly, feigning taking offense to such a claim.

“Since when did I do such a thing?”

“You can never be too careful.” Peppermint replied.

“Very funny.”

“Let's just get dressed, Peppermint. Don't tease Chai any longer or we will surely be the next target of his usual teases.” Korsica chided her softly.

Peppermint nodded in agreement and both started to undress as soon as the other three turned away. This wasn't a good idea however, since she couldn't stop staring at Korsica, who was practically naked apart from her underwear and prosthetics. She had been staring for too long that even the Head of Security noticed.

“Is something wrong, Peppermint?”

“No, no! I'm fine. Just…” She needed to think about something to say and fast before it got weird. “Your muscles are impressive.”

“Oh! Huh… thanks? I had to train a lot to get where I got today, so a toned body is part of the job.” Korsica explained, flexing one of her arms.

‘Damn it. That was much weirder than getting caught staring…’ She thought.

She didn't know if her eyes were pranking her but she could swear Korsica had blushed slightly when she complimented her. Perhaps…

“Can you two hurry up? It's boring just standing here without doing anything.” Chai complained with annoyance.

The redhead smirked and continued getting dressed and the blonde mirrored her. Somehow Chai’s interruption made the atmosphere feel much lighter and drew the attention from her to him which was a relief, but she still wanted to strangle him for calling them out nonetheless.

As Korsica rummaged through her bag, Peppermint noticed she had brought her weapon of choice with her.

“You brought your batons with you?”

“You never know when they might come in handy.”

“I can't possibly think of a purpose for them in a hangout like this.”

“Beat an intruder up?”

“Doubt we will get one of those here.”

Korsica shrugged and winked. “We can't be too careful.”

That wink made a little heat creep into Peppermint's chest. It felt like her brain had stopped functioning and the only thing she could do was laugh awkwardly. They continued getting changed and as soon as Korsica saw Peppermint wearing her onesie she couldn't resist cupping her cheeks tenderly.

“You look adorable Peppermint. A cat? That suits you so well. It has whiskers and a tail and everything!”

When the others heard her comment they turned around and finally saw the clothes they had chosen. Peppermint had a black cat onesie to resemble 808 and although her pink prosthetic leg wasn't the same color as the onesie, it still matched — it didn't really matter since most of it was covered by the fabric anyway.

Korsica was dressed like a fluffy white bunny, but had her hood down so as not to mess up her ponytail. Despite that, the bunny ears were visible enough as they hung down against her back and lastly 808 was wearing a cute shiba inu costume.

In short, all the girls looked adorable.

“Th-thanks Korsica… you look amazing too.” She smiled bashfully.

“I wouldn't use the word amazing.” She pinched her cheeks softly. “It's sleeping clothes but still thanks for the compliment.”

Chai shivered loudly, clearly feeling like a third wheel in that situation.

“All that mushy stuff is cute and all but I think it's our turn to get ready ladies.”

If Peppermint was blushing already she now felt like she would combust. Even Korsica was visibly flustered when she moved away but that didn't stop her from winking at her again.

It was the men's turn to surprise them with their clothing of choice. While they got changed, 808 watched everything. She was just a cat so there was no problem with her seeing them naked. People did that all the time with their own pets, although it crossed Chai's mind that if 808 could record voices maybe she also recorded everything she saw? He didn't see how that could be a problem in the future whatsoever.

Peppermint and Korsica sat down on the couch as they waited. The latter kept playing absentmindedly with the whiskers attached to Peppermint's hood and the blonde couldn't get enough of the attention she was receiving — the blush in her cheeks didn't cease one bit either and she was sure Korsica could see that, however it looked like she wasn't bothered by it. The redhead had a dreamy expression printed on her face and Peppermint didn't know exactly why. It seemed like she was enjoying herself though so that was something. 

It was official, at that moment she just wanted to lean in and kiss her — Korsica was right there and so close but Peppermint had to gather all the strength she could to physically restrain herself from doing so.

Luckily for her, Chai and Macaron were finally dressed and urged them to look at them. Peppermint already knew Chai chose a shark but wasn't expecting Macaron to dress like a huge bear. On second thought it did suit him like a glove.

“Do we look cool or do we look cool?” Chai prompted them to compliment their onesies.

“You look more ready to go to a daycare center than anything else.” Peppermint admitted.

“You're one to talk…” The brunette replied to her remark with folded arms and pouted.

“This is actually very comfortable. I shall wear this more often.” Macaron admitted with a smile. 

“What should we do next, Mister Chai?” CNMN was curious about the young man's plans for the day.

Chai looked around the hideout, drumming his fingers against his cheek as he mulled over what they should do next.

“We could play some video games on the console I brought.”

“Couldn't we just play in the arcade machine we have here?” Korsica wasn't a video game kind of woman so for her any machine that allowed people to play games was the same.

“We could but the one I brought is retro just like the mp3 player stuck in my chest. We can all play together.”

“That's so considerate of you, Mister Chai.” CNMN enthused.

“Yeah, I know I'm awesome.” 

Peppermint couldn't stand when Chai bragged about how good he was so she rolled her eyes reflexively.

“Show us the games you brought, Chai.” Korsica urged. “I'm actually intrigued.” 

“You don't need to tell me twice!” 

With that said Chai rushed to his console and started setting everything up, connecting cables to the biggest screen in front of the pink couch. There were four controllers next to the console as well.

“So when you said we could all play together that was a lie.” Peppermint pointed out, resting a hand on her waist.

“Sorry. I forgot most games only allow four players to play together locally.” Chai hummed to himself, squinting as he donned a pensive expression. “Some of us can play and then we switch. What do you guys think?”

“Considering I'm a machine it probably won't be fair to play against you all so I can just watch.” CNMN quickly suggested.

“You sure you don't want to participate?” Macaron asked with a tone of concern.

“It makes me happy knowing you're having fun, Sir Macaron. Don't worry about me.” As he said that, CNMN kneeled down on the floor next to the couch and waited for the others to make themselves comfortable next to him.

Macaron, Peppermint and Korsica took a seat on the cozy couch, while Chai sat down in front of them. The brunette showed them the games he had in his possession, claiming they were hidden gems. None of them knew why they were considered that so they listened to Chai's long explanation.

Turns out Chai's games didn't have much variety but at least there was a kart and a fighting game amongst them. Those two looked interesting enough to prevent things from eventually getting dull which was a good thing. He spent a whole hour explaining the controls and the premise of the games and Peppermint eagerly waited for the moment he would just shut up and let them play.

Finally that moment came and the first game they tried was the fighting game. The game just had too many combos to keep track of, making it an overwhelming situation. There was not enough time to memorize everything so Peppermint ended up repeating the same combo most of the time. It was still fun regardless, although Chai was taking the battles a bit too personally every time he lost (which weren’t many but still enough to annoy him a bit).

An hour later they tried the kart game and everyone was trying to win. Since there were no teams, they were all attempting to slow down each other. Peppermint was not fond of this, considering Chai clearly had an advantage. She was still trying to get the hang of the controls and it was obvious it wasn't the first time he played this game. 

To nobody's surprise Chai won, followed by Korsica. For someone who didn’t play games she wasn't half bad. Deep down Korsica knew she probably didn't win that race because her hands started acting up. Peppermint was ready to quit due to the unfairness until Korsica stopped her.

“Come on, Peppermint. Let's keep trying. This is supposed to be fun.”

“I know but it stops being fun when one of us is better than the others by default.” She groaned and glared at the brunette who had a gloating smile across his face.

“Oi! I don't want to hear any of that nonsense! We can do this. You know what? Girls against boys. Let's do it.”

“It's on, Korsica!” Chai said without hesitation. He never turned down a challenge.

For the following hour Chai went against Korsica, while Macaron played against Peppermint. This time things were more balanced, taking into consideration Macaron wasn't the best with the tiny controller. She even felt a bit bad for winning against him, but the massive man didn't seem to mind.

“There's more important things in life than winning. Spending time with you guys is enough to make me happy.” Stated Macaron.

“That's very sweet and all Macaron, but it's our dignity as men that is on the line! We need to win this!” 

Chai was actually struggling this time around and Peppermint could barely hide how excited she was to see Korsica winning. Against all odds, Korsica won the last race and in the end girls had more wins than the boys. Chai was completely desolated — his ego mostly but 808 reached out to give him some reassuring licks.

“You're the best Korsica. You showed them who's boss!” Peppermint leaped toward the older woman, wrapping her arms around her neck in celebration.

Korsica looked mildly taken aback for a moment but recovered quickly.

“If I’m being honest I actually didn't expect to win.” The redhead was as baffled as Chai himself.

“It doesn't matter. I'm glad you won.” 

She looked back up at Korsica to find an amused glint in her eyes which consequently made her conscious about herself. She was all over Korsica’s space and that just made Peppermint want to hide inside a hole if only to hide her intense blush.

“I should be the one getting all the praise here but I got beaten at my own game. Can't believe it.”

Once again Peppermint was saved by Chai's inability to read the room and couldn't be more relieved. As the rest of the group prattled on, she swiftly moved away from Korsica and made herself scarce, pretending to go fetch something from her bag. She wanted to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, but what she didn't know was that Korsica was smiling contentedly as she watched her, sighting bitterly soon after.

It didn't take long for Chai to notice Peppermint was missing and so he looked around the place. That's when he saw the blonde rummaging inside her bag.

“Good idea Peppermint. Let's eat!” He exclaimed, assuming she was searching for food.

“Huh, what?”

“Aren't you getting the snacks you brought?”

“Oh! Right… the snacks. Sure we can eat something.” At first she had no intentions to take anything out of her bag but now that Chai mentioned it she didn't mind eating.

The group proceeded to feast on Chai’s and Peppermint's snack stash. Most of it was junk food and sweets of course but the blonde was careful enough to bring some healthier food as well like sweet potato fries, beef jerky and dried fruit — anything that still met Chai's standards of junk food without any of the awful effects.

Everyone but CNMN was delighted and indulged in the many different tastes the food conveyed. He didn't mind being excluded from another activity though. Their meal dragged on for a while and nobody cared. They were enjoying every moment and besides they still had plenty of time before it got dark and many activities they could still do.

They procrastinated for a while after eating, letting both the food and the sluggishness sink. However, they were all there to have fun and not sleep so Chai stood up and stretched, rolling his shoulders as he shifted from foot to foot. 

“What do you guys think about a Karaoke showdown?”

“Why does everything have to be a competition for you?” Korsica wondered.

“Makes things much more interesting. Besides, everyone likes to be considered a winner.”

“Pretty sure you're the only one obsessed with that.” Peppermint said.

“Whatever! Let's get this started. Did you bring the karaoke set, Macaron?”

“Yes, Chai just like you asked. It's inside my bag.”

“Nice!” The brunette gushed effusively, pleased his friend didn't forget.

Macaron trutted towards his belongings right away, revealing the small karaoke set to everyone by hoisting it proudly in the palm of one hand and two microphones in the other, which would allow for duets to take place. A rainbow circle lit up at the center of the machine when he turned it on and soon a long list of songs popped up on the TV screen.

“There's a lot of songs to pick from. Who wants to go first?” Macaron asked.

“I would like to try it out, Sir Macaron!” CNMN raised his hand with as much enthusiasm a robot could display.

Of course CNMN would volunteer for such a thing, but Peppermint was glad someone else took the initiative or Chai might have certainly insisted Peppermint went for it first. 

Everyone sat down to listen to his performance while CNMN picked a song. By their names, none of them caught his interest so he went with a random song instead. When CNMN started singing the first verses, they knew they were in for an unpleasant session. Korsica and Peppermint shared a knowing look and frowned while Chai turned up his nose. Macaron simply fidgeted on his seat sharing the same feeling with his friends. 

It went as bad as they all expected — since CNMN lacked vocal chords his singing skills were beyond horrendous. There was no passion, no rhythm and every word he sang sounded stale, like he was simply reading the lyrics. He didn't care however as it looked like he was enjoying himself. Unfortunately for them their ear drums didn't feel the same way.

When CNMN was done, it was Macaron’s turn. At first he was shy about singing out loud in front of his friends but he soon got used to it. Good thing he didn't pursue a singing career because he wouldn't go far though. He was better than CNMN but even that wasn't much of a compliment. Despite this, he sang more than once to everyone's surprise. Apparently he was enjoying the melodies and lyrics more than he cared to admit. 

“There's nothing like the rush of being on a stage!” Chai commented. “His voice might not be in the right place but he has the attitude.”

“You're right. He is a natural, despite his voice not matching.” Korsica replied with a smirk. She wished she could be that relaxed in the same situation.

They kept listening to him for a few more minutes.

“With a bit of training I might make a singer out of you Macaron!” Chai announced when Macaron finished another song.

“Thanks little guy, but I think I prefer to work in the lab.” He admitted while sitting down on the couch next to Korsica again.

“Fair enough. Well it's my turn to shine.”

“Always so humble, Chai.” Peppermint mentioned, getting a wink from Chai in return.

The brunette searched for the loudest and catchier song he could find. Good thing the hideout was soundproof.

Apparently he had been training his singing skills for quite some time now. A rockstar shouldn't only be able to play well, they should also sing like an angel according to him. 

“Woah.” Korsica marveled. 

At least his efforts were paying off because he did sound amazing, despite the song requiring a lot of screaming. Even 808 joined in, occasionally meowing alongside him.

If Macaron took a while to put down the microphone, Chai took way longer. He was truly feeling at home and none of them dared tell him to get off the improvised stage. A session of multiple songs later, Chai came to a stop because he needed to drink some much needed water. He knew his two friends still had to try the karaoke so he held out the microphones at them.

“I think I will pass, Chai.” Korsica was clearly trying to avoid an embarrassing sisituation.

“If you have stage fright, what about you putting both microphones to good use? Sing a duet for us!”

“You want us to sing at the same time?!” Peppermint was taken aback by the suggestion.

“Why not? Korsica seems to need a push and perhaps performing alongside a friend might help her relax.”

Peppermint reluctantly looked up at Korsica, who just rubbed the back of her neck. Her eyes were unfocused and it seemed like she was lost in thought.

“Korsica, do you want to try it?” She asked.

“I suppose it won't be as embarrassing if we both are going through it…”

“It will be fine. I'm not a great singer but I honestly don't care.” Peppermint rubbed her on the arm trying to convey positive energy to Korsica.

Korsica smiled, relaxing a bit under her touch. 

“Okay, let's do it.”

Unfortunately for them all the duet songs were romantic and cheesy as both singers either poured out their feelings for one another or simply vented about a breakup. Such thing drove Peppermint to wonder if her friends were pulling a prank on her but Macaron would never do that.

“Well this is awful… both options suck.” Peppermint let those words slip out of her mouth but she rapidly corrected herself. “I mean, I like romance but this is… probably awkward for you?”

“Not at all. We are just taking on the role of the singers, nothing else.”

“Ye-yeah… right.”

For Peppermint it hit close to home. She had feelings for Korsica so it felt like she would be confessing to her through the song and the blonde feared giving it away.

With the song chosen and a simple click of a button the melody started playing. It was hard for her to focus on the lyrics which soon began showing up on the screen, but thankfully Korsica was the singer number one and she would only join in afterwards. As she cast a brief look at Korsica it was apparent the older woman was struggling to keep up with the fast paced lyrics. Although she wasn't singing perfectly, to her Korsica’s sweet voice was one she didn't get enough of and Peppermint couldn't stop herself from getting lost in her friend’s bright blue eyes or her charming accent or her intoxicating appearance.

Soon enough it was her time to sing but she completely forgot her cue and for a few seconds the only thing that could be heard was the song’s instrumental.

“Peppermint it's your turn.” 

Chai's warning brought her back from her trance, which made her nearly lose her grasp on the microphone. She tried to play it cool and shrug it off but the sinking feeling in her stomach refused to cease due to the way everyone stared at her with what could be only perceived as confusion and concern.

She tried to sing a few words but hated how shaky her voice came out and growled under her breath. Korsica assumed she was feeling nervous about singing in public and tried to calm her down by stroking her hand gently and uttering soothing words. Such action reminded her of her mother who used to do the same when she was little and stressed out, but to Peppermint it only aggravated the thought that Korsica possibly only saw her as a little sister and nothing more.

“Do you want to stop?” Korsica asked with a raised voice to allow herself to be heard over the loud music.

For as much as she would love to share a duet with Korsica she had already screwed up everything and they would need to restart the song. When she faced Chai it was evident this wasn't the outcome he hoped for and it drove her mad.

“Sorry about this.” She said hurriedly with downcast eyes while rubbing her arm.

Korsica nodded, acknowledging it was over and turned off the karaoke machine.

“It's fine, Peppermint. This wasn't my forte either and not everyone deals well with the pressure of having all eyes on them. It makes me uneasy too but knowing you were by my side helped actually.”

“Oh…” Peppermint shared the sentiment. Having Korsica by her side did help as well but the older woman was just too distracting.

Peppermint moved onto the couch and sat down next to Chai, while Korsica disconnected everything and handed it over to Macaron.

“You were supposed to share a romantic moment there.” He whispered.

This only made Peppermint snarl in his direction, albeit at an equally low tone.

“What were you expecting? I can barely look at her for five minutes without daydreaming.” She replied in a hushed voice. 

Chai simply rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

“So… taking into account this was a disaster… Does anyone want to play a session of truth with a bit of dare thrown into the mix?” Chai asked, rapidly changing subject as he rose to his feet.

“You mean truth or dare, little guy?” Macaron corrected him.

“There's not much we can use here so the variety of the dares will be lackluster, Mister Chai.” CNMN pointed out.

“That's why I called it mostly ‘truth'.” 

“Are the drinks necessary though?” Peppermint wondered when she saw him picking up two bottles of booze. She wasn't used to that type of beverage but she didn't want others to know.

“It's optional but considering some of you might refuse both the truth and the dare, we need something to punish you with.”

“That sounds like an excuse for you to know more about us… Why not simply ask us questions directly?” Korsica looked uneasy and even a bit tense ever since Chai mentioned the game.

“Because this is way cooler and I can think of a dare or two actually.”

“It will be alright, Korsica. I'm not a fan either but it's just a silly game.” Peppermint tried to reassure her, although she knew very well Korsica hated unpredictability.

She was the type of woman to measure the risks and approach every situation from all angles so being thrown into something random was literally the worst that could happen to her. In short, she didn't like dares.

With that settled and to Korsica's dismay, the group sat down on the floor in a circle. In a clockwise motion Chai started spinning one of the bottles so they could randomly ask questions to each other — just to spice things up even more rather than always getting to ask the same person over and over again.

Korsica and Peppermint went easy on the others and although Macaron always picked dare, they were easy ones to complete. It actually surprised Korsica to see the man once shy now take on the dares full of confidence. Chai's personality was rubbing off on him for sure.

CNMN didn't mind either of the options, picking both truth and dare as he saw fit. He basically accepted every dare thrown at him and answered all the questions without fear, although CNMN could somewhat cheat on the game due to his inability to drink.

“It's my turn to ask! So, Korsicaaa.” Chai drew her name out and looked at the redhead with a smug look on his face, which only made the older woman tense up even further. She didn't expect him to ask her. “Truth or dare?” Chai was very aware she would never say dare.

Korsica sighed in response. Feeling like she couldn't back out now.

“Truth…”

“What’s your type?” He asked almost immediately.

Korsica froze completely, feeling put on the spot to the point she almost forgot to breathe for a moment.

“What… what do you mean, my… my type?” Korsica stammered. She didn't like to answer such personal questions.

“You know what I mean. Men or women? Moment of the truth dear Korsica.” 

As he finished his sentence he shot a wink at Peppermint. The blonde couldn't believe he had the courage to ask her that directly. He was either very brave or very stupid but at the same time Peppermint envied him for having the audacity to ask what she couldn't.

Since Peppermint was right next to her it was hard to tell who it was directed at, but after such a question the redhead assumed Chai was winking at her. Korsica scooted closer to Peppermint and in response the blonde leaned into her warmth. 

“Is he hitting on me?” She whispered her question behind her hand.

She definitely didn't expect that question.

“NO!” Peppermint blurted out, making everyone in the room look at her dumbfounded. Even CNMN had to draw a shocked expression over his metallic face. She then cleared her throat and tried again. “I mean… no. You know Chai… He is just messing with you, Korsica.”

“That's good to know because I didn't want to break any hearts today.”

“Can you hurry up already? What are you even talking about?” Chai was growing impatient by the way he drummed his fingers against the floor.

Korsica seemed to hesitate a moment, then replied.

“Just pass me the booze, Chai.”

Chai didn't rebuke and complied, opening the bottle and handing it over to her as well as a cup. Korsica poured the content into the cup and drank it all in one go.

Peppermint was kind of relieved to know Chai wasn't her type but that didn't really answer the question if she was into men or not. Besides, if she was… wouldn't it be easy to say so? Perhaps Korsica was simply one of those people that didn't like to talk about her romantic interests with anyone on any occasion.

The game kept going and after a while it was Chai's turn to spin the bottle again and Korsica dreaded she would fall victim to Chai's questions once more. Unfortunately for Peppermint she was the one who got chosen by the forsaken bottle.

“Sweet! Truth or dare Peppermint? Psst. Pick dare! I have a good one for you.”

“Fine, I'll take the bait. Dare.”

There was a strange undertone to his smile that Peppermint couldn’t quite place, making her regret her choice almost instantly.

“I dare you to kiss anyone in this room!”

Surprisingly enough Korsica was the one to protest, calling Chai out for his behavior.

“Why all these intrusive questions and dares all of a sudden?” Everyone could see the clear concern in her eyes.

“It's all part of the game! No need to get all riled up, Korsica. If someone doesn't like their question or dare they can simply take a sip of this delicious drink.”

“First off, that is literally poison and second you are being more annoying than usual.”

“What can I say? I like teasing people once in a while.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “So what is it going to be Peppermint? Do you kiss or drink?”

All eyes were on her now, eager to know what she would do next. Korsica seemed uneasy for no apparent reason however, while the others remained calm and neutral towards the younger woman.

“Huh…” 

Chai prompted her to make a move by nodding rapidly, making Peppermint's mind go blank. She appreciated Chai's weird help but she didn't know what to do or how to pull that stunt off. Sure she could simply kiss 808 and get it over with but it would be silly if she did so.

With reluctance she requested that Chai filled a cup for her and he did, despite huffing with disappointment. She took the cup between her hands and stared down at it, watching her reflex on the liquid. Forcing something to happen between her and Korsica wasn't going to help, but then again she should probably take that opportunity to at least show some affection towards her. She was Peppermint Vandelay and she never backed down from a challenge after all.

“On second thought…” She put down the cup next to her and then cautiously faced Korsica. I'm going to kiss you Korsica.” The words erupted from her mouth before she could think better of them.

“Huh… huh…” The older woman stammered, which only made Peppermint mentally chastise herself.

“I… I mean. Only if you let me of course! On the cheek! Just to get this dare out of the way?” All her courage was long gone and anyone could see that by the way she fumbled with her words.

It was Korsica's turn to be the center of attention and everyone watched as they looked forward to the outcome like it was some sort of soap opera.

“Come on, get it over with!” Chai prodded with both his hands closed, shaking them up and down with excitement.

“Oi! Chai I swear to god I'm gonna grab my batons and beat you with them!”

“Sorry! Proceed.”

Korsica let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed her forehead.

“Permission granted, Peppermint. I don't want to be the one responsible for you drinking such a horrible beverage after all.”

Without another word Peppermint scooted closer to her and leaned in slowly. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest, she feared Korsica would be able to hear it. As soon as her lips connected with Korsica's skin, her heart skipped a beat and jolts of electricity coursed through her body. She wasn't sure if the woman next to her felt the same but at that moment she could only focus on how incredibly warm and soft her skin was. Her lips lingered against her porcelain face a bit longer, while it was still deemed acceptable. She was enjoying this, however it had to come to an end so Peppermint pulled away with haste and returned to her previous position.

Neither Korsica or her said a word and Peppermint had no idea if leaving her speechless had been a good thing. What she did know was that the Head of Security was redder than usual.

After a moment of silence Chai broke it by whistling. 

“Well that was awkward to watch! But at least you completed the dare. It's your turn to spin the bottle, Korsica.”

Peppermint averted her eyes, pulling down her hoodie to cover her face and hide how flustered she was herself.

“I don't feel like playing anymore.” Korsica bluntly stated as she rose to her feet and traced trembling fingers across her burning cheek. “Is there something we can do that doesn't involve… ‘this’?”

“This what?”

“Talking.”

Chai stroked his chin, seemingly giving the question some thought.

“We could watch a movie?”

“Good enough. After all the booze I drank I'm starting to feel a headache and could use the quiet.”

Chai feared he had taken it too far and didn't throw any other jokes at her, neither protested. He was just trying to help Peppermint with her feelings but his job as matchmaker was surely getting the opposite reaction out of Korsica and the only thing he was accomplishing was annoying the redhead and letting Peppermint down.

Hopefully things between them could still work out… if the two women stopped being stubborn that is.

Chapter 3: Feelings are hard

By the time they started watching the movie it was almost five in the afternoon. Chai had some movies in his possession, but most of them were very long fantasy movies.

Peppermint would rather watch something on the shorter side, however Macaron and CNMN took a liking to one specific movie that was over three hours. In case she didn't enjoy the movie at least there was a lot of junk food to keep her entertained.

Chai spread out his sleeping bag on the floor and sat over it. There were also some bowls with snacks and some bottles of juice scattered around his improvised camping spot. He really didn't mind not having the sofa for himself, so Macaron, Korsica and Peppermint claimed it as their own, while CNMN once again sat on the floor. This time around he had a blanket under him, but considering robots didn't felt temperatures Korsica didn't see the point of it. Perhaps he simply wanted to feel more included in the group by doing the same things they did.

Since it was getting chilly, Peppermint placed her own blanket over her legs.

“Do you… want to share?”

“Thought you would never ask.” Korsica replied with that playful smile that seemed to live rent-free in Peppermint’s daydreams and moved closer, covering herself with Peppermint's blanket.

The blonde was elated, feeling like she had won the day because she could feel Korsica's warmth for hours. She didn't even care about the movie anymore, not like she would be able to focus on it either way.

They turned off the lights as per Chai's request, allowing only for the TV screen to lit up the room. According to him it would help them feel like they were actually in a movie theater. Eventually the movie started running and for a while Korsica seemed interested, however soon enough she looked bored. 808 noticing this and being as cuddly as she was, jumped over her creator's lap and snuggled there, indulging in the pets both Peppermint and Korsica threw at her — if Korsica was bored you could bet 808 would use that in her favor.

Although Peppermint asked Chai to pass them a bowl of snacks both Korsica and Peppermint didn't eat as much compared to the rest of the group. Macaron was enjoying the movie so much he barely took his eyes off the screen, requiring CNMN to feed the snacks directly into his mouth.

Peppermint snatched a glance at Korsica, making her heart instantly flutter. She looked as gorgeous as ever even with so little light to highlight her features. Amongst all that darkness a second of bravery striked Peppermint and she leaned against Korsica, resting her head on her shoulder and pretending to have fallen asleep. The older woman jolted in her seat, getting startled by her bold move. Peppermint felt the redhead's body tense up under her touch as well and she cursed herself for being so stupid, but soon enough she surprisingly relaxed and mirrored the blonde, resting her head against her own and using her as a pillow. Peppermint was awestruck and had to physically resist the urge to scream with delight. At that point it would be impossible for her to fall asleep even if she was pretending to do so. Both her nerves and hormones didn't let her.

Suddenly Peppermint felt Korsica shift in her seat and lightly move her hand towards her leg, hesitantly hovering over it. Shock and delight welled up inside her in equal measure when the Head of Security placed her hand right on top of her leg! It took all of her willpower not to flinch but she definitely didn't know how to process that.

She heard the woman let out a deep breath and they just stayed like that for a couple of minutes in complete silence, until she felt something shaking over her leg. Peppermint soon realized Korsica’s hand was out of control again, shaking aggressively and the woman pulled away immediately and wrapped her other hand around her wrist in a hopeless attempt to stop the shaking.

‘Why don't you ask me for help?’ Peppermint thought. ‘I don't like seeing you struggle… and that's definitely getting worse by the day.’

Now their moment was ruined, but at least she could still enjoy the closeness as long as Korsica believed she was asleep.

The movie eventually came to an end and everyone was exhausted.

“Man, I'm beat. I forgot how bad my butt hurts when I stay in the same position for so long.” Chai tilted his head to both sides and stretched.

“The feeling is mutual little guy. At least the movie was amazing.”

“I agree.” CNMN said, turning on the lights of the hideout once more.

“I know right? I knew you would… like… it.” He trailed off the last words when he saw how close Pepperming and Korsica were sat. 

Korsica was deeply asleep and even drooling a bit, while Peppermint was shielding her eyes from the sudden light.

“Nice job Peppermint.” He flashed a thumbs up at her, which only made Peppermint grow more embarassed.

“Shut up, Chai.” Peppermint ordered him with a snarl. The last thing she wanted was for any of them to make questions. 

It didn't take long for Korsica to wake up as well, although she looked confused after looking around.

“I'm still at the hideout?” She asked, shaking herself from her stupor. “For a moment I thought this whole day had been in my head."

“Nope. It was very real dear Korsica. So is Peppermint worthy of the pillow title or what?” He teased them both and Macaron beamed at them, apparently finding that situation funny.

“Huh…” Korsica flinched back in horror when she found some of her drool over Peppermint's hood. “Sorry I fell asleep and didn't notice. I have been so tired lately.”

“It's fine! Really!” Peppermint shook both her hands in front of her. “I didn't mind!”

“You were very comfortable to lean against though…” Korsica mused, nervously scratching her cheek with a finger.

Peppermint forgot how to breath for a moment. Screaming internally when she heard that revelation. It wasn't the best compliment she has gotten throughout her life but she would take it.

“We should probably go to sleep.” Chai suggested. “What do you think guys?”

“I agree.” Macaron replied.

“Yeah there's nothing else to do so thats definitely the right decision.” Korsica said as she stood up from the sofa.

Nobody opposed the idea so eventually they all got ready to sleep. Macaron insisted he would sleep on his oversized sleeping bag and Chai followed his example. Claiming he had taken enough naps in both sofas and stating he felt like being charitable and bequeath them to the girls.

“Do you even sleep CNMN?” Korsica curiously asked when she saw the robot simply standing on a corner of the hideout while everyone else was getting cozy in their own cocoon.

“No, Miss Korsica. I simply wait for time to pass, but I can press this button on my head to enter ‘rest mode’ if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

She had to admit it was very creepy if CNMN stayed up all night watching them sleep.

“That… would actually be appreciated.” She replied at the same time she took off her ponytail holder. 

Peppermint watched as Korsica let her hair loose, elegantly cascading down her back. She didn't have many opportunities to see her with that hairstyle so it always amazed her how beautiful she looked that way. Unfortunately she was caught staring and as a response she laid down on the old sofa, using her blanket to cover her face completely.

‘You're so stupid! Could you be any more obvious?!’ She chastised herself, not daring to peek outside the blanket.

She heard Chai bid them goodnight and everyone but her replied back in unison. She wanted others to forget she was there if just for a moment.

It didn't take long for the lights to be turned off for the last time that day. Only then Peppermint was brave enough to pull back her blanket to make herself more comfortable. She let out a repressed sigh of frustration, unsure how Korsica kept up with her childish behavior. Why couldn't she simply be normal around her?

Loud snoring interrupted her train of thought. Someone had already fallen asleep and she had no idea how it was possible. 808 joined her soon after, snuggling close to her body. Despite her worries and the annoying noise, she fell into slumber. Peppermint always had trouble focusing on her work but at least insomnia had never been a problem.

 

In the middle of the peaceful night a member of the group was having trouble sleeping however. Korsica kept tossing and turning on the sofa for two whole hours. After checking her phone, she was sure it felt like she had been awake for longer than that. As if by some miracle and despite the loud snoring, she finally managed to shut her eyes and get some well needed sleep. It was short lived though as nightmares of Kale's attack directed at her took over her mind again, eventually snapping her back to consciousness and forcing her to gasp for air as she struggled to breath.

She sat up on the sofa as the last drop of sleepiness escaped her. She was definitely not going to fall back to sleep after that… The nightmares always felt so real and the pain she felt that day still lingered at the back of her head. If she was back home she would have definitely gotten some fresh air but considering she was in the hideout that wasn't possible.

Korsica ended up getting out of her improvised bed anyway. It was dark in the hideout but the lights emanating from 808's body and her arm stabilizers were enough to dimly lit up the place and help her walk around. She decided a glass of juice could perhaps help with her sleep deprivation so she slowly moved towards one of the unopened bottles on top of the table and served herself.

What Korsica wasn't expecting was for her hand to start shaking at the exact time she took a hold of the glass, leading her to lose sensation in her fingers in the process.

Peppermint and 808 woke up to a startling sound and jumped out of the sofa instantly. She looked around in a daze with her heart beating a mile a minute in search of the source of the crashing noise and that's when she saw Korsica's bluish frame standing at a corner of the hideout. Whatever happened it wasn't loud enough to wake up the others and she was both impressed and concerned.

“Shite! Seriously…” She heard the woman curse to herself.

“Korsica? Are you okay? What happened?” Peppermint whispered as she walked towards the distressed woman.

808 was quicker getting there, lighting up the surrounding area with her eyes.

“Pe-Peppermint? 808… You're awake? Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up.”

“Don't worry about it.” Peppermint saw the shattered pieces of glass scattered all over the floor and that's when everything clicked. “Oh.”

“I doubt you have a broom to clean up this mess?” Korsica huffed with a hint of agitation in her soft irish accent.

“We can deal with that tomorrow. I think we have more important matters to tend to.” Peppermint patted her on the shoulder.

“What do you mean?”

“Just come with me Korsica and please don't act like nothing's wrong, alright?”

The older woman didn't say another word, following Peppermint towards the table where all her computers and some of her tools were located. The blonde pulled up a chair for her, beckoning her to sit by her side.

808 jumped over the table and switched her appearance to a ball, allowing the whole table to be well lit for Peppermint to work on.

“So… I know your arm stabilizers are giving you trouble.”

Korsica didn't answer right away. Coming up with an excuse wouldn't do her any good and she knew it was near impossible to hide such things from Peppermint.

“Observant as always…”

“Taking that into consideration… I would like to give them a look. If that's alright with you? I know you were snappy last time we talked about this.” Peppermint asked when a lull in the conversation presented itself.

“It's not like I have a choice. I can't even hold an object without my hands betraying me out of nowhere so go ahead.” Korsica said, sounding dejected.

“There's nothing wrong with asking for help, Korsica.”

“I'm not used to doing so and I surely don't like bothering others with my inability to do simple tasks.” As she explained that, Korsica zipped down her onesie, exposing her upper body in all its glory.

Peppermint had to resist the urge to swoon as her gaze roamed Korsica’s half naked body. She swallowed dryly as her mind drifted to places it clearly shouldn't. She couldn't care less if Korsica's arms and chest were full of scars and tech, for her she was beautiful all the same.

“Peppermint… you alright? You haven't said anything for a while.”

“Oh. Yes, of course. Sorry. I was… inspecting your prosthetics…” She lied but hoped Korsica wouldn't see through her. “From here everything looks okay but I will take them off to get a better look.” 

“Thanks for the help Peppermint and sorry for giving you more work.”

“It's nothing really. This won't take long if the problem is what I think it is.” She assured as she first detached the ICD cable from her shoulder. 

“Anything on the ICD?” Peppermint asked as she began taking the stabilizers off slowly one by one.

“It's been good.”

“Okay, that's good.”

Korsica didn't tell anyone but she despised having to wear those arm stabilizers all the time. Otherwise she couldn't perform simple tasks, which was frustrating to say the least.

“Lately the edges around the upper arm do chafe so it is a bit uncomfortable though.”

“I can fix that. You should have told me sooner.”

“Perhaps…”

Eventually her severely scarred left arm was at full display. The right arm wasn't affected to the same degree but it still bore some considerable scars. Peppermint brushed her fingers over the scarred skin with a pained expression.

“Have your scars been bothering you?” 

“Not really… it doesn't hurt anymore, although there's some soreness and itchiness sometimes.

Peppermint hummed then drifted her attention to the prosthetics and Korsica silently watched as she meticulously worked on her stabilizers with utmost care. Korsica couldn't deny how angelic she looked under that light. Who was she trying to fool? Peppermint looked beautiful all the time even when she didn't try to look good. 

Without her prosthetics it didn't take long for her hands to start losing some sensation and it always frustrated her to the point she couldn't stop fidgeting on her seat. Turns out Peppermint was more savvy than she thought.

“Bear with me. This will only take a while.” 

True to her word, in just a couple of minutes Peppermint was done.

“Just like new.” She said, then started putting the stabilizers back on their rightful place covering the arms again. “All they needed was to be recalibrated. It might happen again but for now you’re good to go.”

“I can't thank you enough Peppermint.”

“You don't need to. I'm glad I could help.” She admitted, connecting the cable once again to Korsica's ICD.

Korsica opened and closed both her hands, feeling completely normal again. She couldn't stop smiling contentedly at her recently repaired prosthetics as she felt a huge relief engulf her.

“Why were you awake at this time of the night though? Couldn't sleep?”

“Something like that. Let's just say all this snoring isn't a very good background noise.”

“Tell me about it.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of Peppermint's lips as she looked over to her snoring friends.

Korsica chuckled but then her expression hardened.

“There's also the fact that my brain forces me to relive the day of the attack sometimes. Today was one of those nights.” She confessed while covering her body again with the onesie.

“I'm sorry to hear that. I know Kale hurt a lot of people. I just wish you hadn't been one of them.” A pained expression took over Peppermint's features but it soon switched to anger. She absolutely didn't want to dwell on memories of him. “I don't think I will ever be able to forgive Kale.”

“Neither do I… but we just got to live one day at a time.” Korsica reached up and caressed Peppermint's cheek lovingly with her thumb. “As long as we have each other's backs we will be okay.”

“Yeah you're right.” 

Peppermint couldn't resist closing her eyes, taking in the sensation of Korsica's warm hand against her skin. She was enjoying it so much she subconsciously nuzzled against Korsica's touch. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the older woman — she didn't pull away though. 

When Peppermint opened her eyes she was faced with an equally flustered Korsica. All that made her realize she wasn't subtle at all about being touch deprived and she panicked, jerking away.

“Sorry I… this is awkward.” Peppermint averted her gaze and started playing with her hair in a hurried manner. “I'm… awkward…”

“Peppermint…”

She flinched when she heard her name.

“Yeah?” She asked, refusing to turn her face in Korsica's direction.

“Can you look at me, please?”

Despite her anxiety over what Korsica thought about her, she complied and looked at her. She both feared and expected to find anger or even disgust directed at her, but her eyes were marveled by Korsica who was looking back down at her with adoration, wearing a dreamy smile without shame.

“You're not awkward. You’re… beautiful actually and amazingly skilled and intelligent as well.” 

Hearing such effusive praise only deepened the blush spreading across her face. Korsica's blue eyes were boring into her very soul and hearing that sparked something within Peppermint. She needed to be closer to her so with the help of her wheeled chair she sidled up to Korsica — the gap between them was now much smaller than before and the older woman didn't seem to mind.

“You really think that?”

“I do. You know… It is very disappointing when I have to spend a whole day without seeing you.”

It sounded like Korsica missed her as well if that comment of hers was anything to go by. 

“I miss you everyday too, Korsica.”

“Don't you… miss the others too when you can't be with them?”

“If I have to be honest… it feels like someone is stabbing my heart when I can't see you specifically.”

“I see.” Korsica suddenly knitted her brow pensively and remained silent.

Peppermint waited patiently, hoping she would say something else. If not for the snoring, the silence would be deafening. Finally Korsica broke it.

“Peppermint I… I don't really know how to say this.”

Seeing the hesitation in Korsica's eyes made her roll hers and draw closer to Korsica. She didn't know where all that boldness came from but she didn't bother finding out. They were so close, the subtle hint of vanilla filled Peppermint's nose. She could feel Korsica's breathing lapping against her skin as well. Both things were intoxicating. She had never been this close to Korsica before. 

The redhead didn't walk away so this had to be a sign she wasn't stepping over some boundaries of hers. That was Peppermint's chance. Green eyes never left blue ones for even a second as Peppermint swore the moment could end if she dared to look away. They stayed like that for a few seconds as Korsica coyly traced her fingers over the line of her jaw and Peppermint’s breath hitched in her throat in response. 

Soon enough she felt herself being pulled into a kiss as Korsica slowly closed the gap between their mouths. Although Peppermint went stiff out of surprise, the tension rapidly melted out of her body when Korsica’s soft lips finally connected with hers. She could barely feel her leg at that point though so she was glad she was sitting in a chair.

It felt like a dream come true. Peppermint had wanted her mouth on Korsica's for months and now that it was happening, she wanted to savor the moment. For an unknown amount of time they stayed there, Peppermint caressing Korsica while the redhead gently gripped her neck, incentivizing Peppermint to lean into her embrace more.

Having Korsica's hands buried in her hair felt amazing as tingles washed down her back and Peppermint didn't want it to end, but as much as both were enjoying the kiss, they had to pull back eventually.

When they did, their faces were mere inches away from each other, allowing both of them to take in what just happened as well as to linger in each other's gaze. It was obvious they were completely flustered and rather excited about what unfolded. As a tremendous amount of happiness took over Peppermint she couldn't resist kissing Korsica again, sharing a sweet but short peck on the lips. The older woman gasped lightly at that, but reciprocated nevertheless. Before they knew it, more kisses like that one were being exchanged. They lingered on every single one for longer than they cared to admit until Peppermint drew away with a big smile on her face. When she noticed the dazing look plastered on Korsica's face she had to let out a giggle.

“Well that just happened.”

“It… did.” Korsica replied, touching her lips with her fingers.

Peppermint didn't know what to say after that, although she had some questions. They simply couldn't act like nothing happened. This had to be talked about.

“So… what does this mean for us?”

“Us?” Korsica repeated.

“Yes. We kissed… many times actually. That means we like each other right? Does this mean we are together now?” She asked, delight and apprehension welling up inside her in equal measure.

“Damn it… I shouldn't have gotten carried away… it was stronger than me.” Korsica sounded more callous than she anticipated and regretted her words immediately.

“What?” Peppermint was confused. 

“I… Peppermint this is what I was trying to tell you before we kissed."

“Oh no… don't tell me you already have someone…”

“No. It's not that.”

“Then what's the problem?” 

Korsica took a deep breath. She was just going to say it. There was no point beating around the bush.

“We wouldn't work out…” Korsica winced when she heard herself out loud.

A silence filled the room. A silence that hung long and thick to the point you could slice through it with a knife. Korsica could see Peppermint was fuming.

"Why do you say that?” Peppermint managed to put those words together despite the lump in her throat.

“Don't you think I'm too old for you?”

“No. I don't care about that, besides I don't choose who I fall in love with.” It was too late to change what Peppermint had said. That's the way she felt and she wasn't going to hide it any longer.

“You love me?” Korsica asked, baffled about the strong word used.

“I do… I have for a few months now.”

“That's some… very strong feelings…” Korsica fidgeted nervously and Peppermint seemed to pick up on her trepidation, but she didn't comment about it.

Korsica wanted to express her feelings for Peppermint so badly as well, but reciprocating would only make this situation even harder for both of them. However, she knew what she was about to do would probably torment her forever.

“What about Roxanne? What would she say? Ha-have you thought about that?” She faltered.

“My mother? What does she have to do with us?”

“She's my boss? Everything would change and this relationship could just complicate things. She might not look kindly on it.”

Peppermint made no effort to hide how hurt she felt.

“You're literally rejecting me because of your stupid job? My mom has nothing to do with this.” Peppermint countered, more frustrated than she expected to sound. “She shouldn't be part of the equation.”

A hurt look flashed across Korsika’s face when she heard Peppermint's voice crack. She hated to be the one responsible for the blonde's pain. However, Korsica couldn't shrug off the possibility of Roxanne Vandelay becoming a problem between them in the future. She took Peppermint’s hand on her own and squeezed it gently in a foolish attempt to calm her down.

“I really like you Peppermint… I really do. Don't take me wrong. It just wouldn't be wise to date my boss's daughter…” 

Unfortunately saying that only made things worse and Peppermint jerked away from Korsica in response, stood up and clenched her fists.

“Wise? Says who?!” She said with raging tears welling in her eyes. “I can't believe my mother is a factor in this and I can't even control it.”

“I…” 

“You know what? You don't need to say another word. I will leave you be. You don't have to worry about my mother or your job.”

“Peppermint let me explain.”

“I think you said enough.”

The blonde turned around and stormed off away from Korsica, stomping her way towards the sofa. Korsica watched her lay down with a loud thud, making the old cushions' springs creak. She refused to look at her and Korsica couldn't really blame her.

Korsica looked at 808 with sorrow in her eyes and the black cat reverted to her feline form. Unable to help, 808 did what she did best, giving a reassuring nudge on her arm.

“Thanks, 808…”

808 meowed, ears flat on her head and jumped down the table afterwards, then moved in the direction of Peppermint. 808 hopped over the woman and curled up next to her chest, but Peppermint remained unmovable. Korsica still caught a glimpse of her hugging the robotic cat tightly after a while and it only made her feel worse. 

‘It's going to be a long night…’ Korsica thought, not looking forward to the following sleepless hours ahead of her.

Chapter 4: My heart will do the talking

“Good morning everybody!” Chai's voice echoed through the hideout as he rolled out of his sleeping bag with renewed energy.

“Don't talk so loud…” Korsica grumbled as she covered her head with her blanket. 

“Against all odds I slept like a rock.” Macaron yawned loudly.

“Let's go sleepyheads. Time to rise and shine!” The brunette rushed to Peppermint's couch to greet her but when he got there the spot was empty. “Where did Peppermint go?”

“She left?” Macaron asked with concern.

“808 isn't here either. Neither are their belongings, so that is a correct assumption, Sir Macaron.” Stated CNMN with a sad face drawn on his faceplate. “Also there's shattered glass on the floor."

“What gives? She left without saying anything?” Chai looked at everyone in hopes of getting an answer. Then turned her attention to Korsica who was dragging herself out of the pink couch. “Did she tell you where she went, Korsica?”

“No…” The older woman wearily rubbed her face in a hopeless attempt to shrug off the nagging anguish within her. She had been unable to quiet her mind even for a second last night.

“That's not like her though… I'll text her right away.”

“I don't know if you should do that.” Korsica warned Chai.

“Why?”

“Something tells me she won't be in the mood to answer…” The woman shrunk in place as those words left her mouth.

“Is there something we should know about? If something is bothering Peppermint we might be able to help.” Macaron suggested innocently since he was oblivious to what happened.

Korsica had to keep them in the dark. It wasn't her place to tell.

“No, Macaron. Just… I gotta go.” Korsica swiftly grabbed her blanket and moved towards her bag in a hurry.

“You too? We should spend the Sunday together as well, remember?” Chai pointed out.

“I'm not in the right headspace for that, Chai. You three don't need us to have fun.”

“It's not the same as you can tell.”

“Yeah… I know.” She knew that very well. Nothing was the same when Peppermint wasn't around. It was like something was missing and nothing would be perfect until she was there.

After Korsica got dressed she left the hideout and her three friends to speculate about what coud have possibly happened last night that drove Peppermint to leave without a warning. Perhaps Peppermint would eventually enlighten them but knowing her well as Korsica did, she would keep her cards close to her chest.

 

The following days had been the longest ones yet for Korsica. Doubt and guilt didn't let her whirling mind and heart rest and between that and the memory of Peppermint's sweet lips and electrifying touch, she’d had little chance to sleep, nor work effectively. Even the TEC-78 androids inability to get their work done in time and the way they complained about her was striking her nerves more than usual.

The fact Peppermint has gone completely radio silent didn't help either to ease her aching heart. She simply didn't reply to any messages her friends threw at her in the group chat and Korsica felt responsible for it, although neither Chai or Macaron blamed her of such. Deep down she knew she was to blame…

Reaching out to Peppermint crossed her mind multiple times but in every single scenario she made things worse and due to that she didn't build up enough courage to do so. Not through an e-mail or the group chat and much less personally. She wasn't sure how to adress the subject. What was she going to tell her anyway?Lunch time was also an event she dreaded as Korsica feared what could entail if Peppermint and her ran into each other. She sometimes found Chai or Macaron there and fortunately only crossed paths with Peppermint once.

As it was to be expected, the younger woman left in a hurry as soon as her eyes fell on Korsica, giving her the cold shoulder — paying attention only to Chai who was next to her. 

When he tried to ask her what was wrong, Peppermint simply dodged the question, claiming she was busy. The way she avoided Korsica didn't go unnoticed by the brunette either. Although he used to be very oblivious most of the time, that specifically caught his attention and he was definitely growing impatience with the lack of answers.

 

A knock at her office's door jolted her out of her rumination and only then did she realize tears were dripping down her cheeks and staining the papers she was supposed to read.

“Co-come in!” Korsika called, clearing the rasp from her voice and brushing the tears away to look the most presentable possible in that situation.

It was Chai and he looked more apprehensive than usual.

“Korsica, what happened?” He asked with a tilt of his head. “And wow you look haggard.”

The way he interacted with her so bluntly caught her off guard.

“First do you even know what ‘haggard’ means? And second, what do you mean, Chai?” She replied awkwardly before somewhat getting a hold of herself.

“Not sure I do but that doesn't matter.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You know what I mean. You and Peppermint. What happened?”

“I… don't know… what you're talking about.” She stammered out nervously, trying to keep her composure.

“Ever since Peppermint disappeared from the hideout the other day she basically refuses to reply to the group chat messages anymore. She doesn’t even have lunch with any of us anymore AND most importantly she doesn’t talk to you at all.”

Korsica knitted her brow at his accusatory tone.

“What makes you think I'm the one responsible?”

He cocked an eyebrow in response to her silly question. 

“Well I know you were being all cute and romantic the other day and then all of a sudden poof! Things changed.”

“You're seeing things.”

Korsica looked away, dodging the question. Just from that, Chai was able to discern that his gut feeling was right.

“You know I'm not leaving until you tell me, right?”

“I. Fine. You want to know the truth? We kissed that day, okay?” She snapped, subtly clenching her fists as she tried not to lose her temper even further. “...While you were sleeping.”

“Huh… alright? So is Peppermint that angry because you're a bad kisser or what?”

“I’m not a bad kisser but that's not the point! I told her we couldn't be together because of her mother.” She admitted in exasperation.

“What? Couldn't you just have said you didn't feel the same way about her?”

“That's the thing… I do feel the same way…” Her entire body went rigid and she crossed her arms, covering her chest like a shield.

“Then what are you doing? No wonder she's pissed… knowing her well as I do getting rejected despite her feelings being reciprocated because of her mother is far worse than simply being friendzoned.”

For a brief moment, the shock of hearing that made her furious.

“Oi! What do you want me to do?! It is not professional dating your boss’s daughter! Although I want to be with her it would complicate things. Could compromise my job…”

“Who cares about professionalism? Roxanne Vandelay doesn't seem like the type of person to care about that and shouldn't people be more important than a job?”

Korsica's gaze flicked up to Chai for a moment, then away again.

“Things might not work out…” She replied with despondence.

“Anything in life might not work out. You can't be afraid of the unexpected all your life and you surely can't plan every step of it.”

“Chai… that's actually very wise of you.”

“Yeah, yeah! I appreciate the praise but I think you have something to sort out with Peppermint. No pressure though.”

Unable to stay still anymore, Korsica took a long swallow, followed by a deep breath and rose up from her seat.

“She probably doesn't want to see me.” She admitted plaintively.

“Try anyway. Peppermint likes you. She might be stubborn but she won't shut you out if you try hard enough.”

“Perhaps, Chai…”

“Just go for it.” He tried to comfort her with a thumbs up.

“I'll… see what I can do.”

“Nice! Also if you're not sure what to say to her, actions speak louder than words.”

Korsica hummed.

“Well I better get going.” Chai pointed behind him with his thumbs as he moved away towards the door. “I have ambassador tasks to do so see you later!”

“Yeah… see ya.”

Despite having this conversation with Chai, Korsica didn't feel much more confident. On the contrary she was on edge over what would come out of this. Even her friendships were suffering because of her insecurities and that couldn't keep happening. She had to face Peppermint for the better or the worse.

Korsica looked at the clock hanging on the wall. There were still two hours before her shift was over and although she loved her job, on that specific day she couldn't stand being at the office. It was unbearable. She ended up leaving momentarily to grab a coffee, not like she really wanted to drink anything — it was just an excuse for her to get out of her office even if just for a few minutes. 

After finally acquiring her coffee, Korsica paced through the department to check if everything was in order. At least she would be distracted while doing so. Meanwhile, she ran into a human employee talking with an OL-404 model. They seemed very close by the way the man had his arm wrapped around the android's neck but only after studying them for a bit, her suspicion was confirmed as they shared a kiss — an awkward one at that.

‘What the…?’ 

She thought, questioning herself how their relationship would even work taking into account how different their biologies and basically everything else was. There was literally nothing compatible between them and despite all that they were still sharing a relationship. They had given a chance to their love to bloom and honestly their relationship had all the reasons and more to not even be a thing in the first place.

Korsica looked down, watching her bitter face reflected on the coffee in her hand. Chai was right. She couldn't let her doubts control her. If she did she might lose what's important to her. 

“You can do this Korsica. You managed to become Head of Security so nothing beats that…” She muttered to herself before drinking the whole coffee with a swig, turning up her nose soon after. “I will never get used to the taste of decaf...”

It was settled, she had to tell Peppermint everything she felt, the only thing she still had to figure out was how to get her to talk to her. At first Korsica decided to send her an email, mentioning how she was in need of her services around the department. She hated how vague her message was but she wasn't the best at coming up with lies. However, it didn't take long for an answer to arrive and her eyes darted across the screen immediately, hoping despite everything that Peppermint would be at her office's door in a few minutes. Unfortunately Peppermint refused to show up due to her being the one contacting her.

‘Figured it wouldn't be that easy. If she refuses to come to me. I will go to her instead.’ She planned mentally.

Peppermint would probably still be at her lab for the next hour and that's exactly when Korsica's shift would end. There was no way she could get there in time before Peppermint left Vandelay tower. She wasn't known for leaving work early, so she needed help to keep Peppermint at the lab for a bit longer and that's when Chai crossed her mind. He is good with distractions, stalling her long enough till she arrives would be easy for him. She pulled out her phone and decided to call him, getting surprised by how quickly he answered his phone.

“Hey, Chai, I need your help.”

“Yo Korsica. What do you need?”

“Are you still busy though?”

“A little bit but for you I can always make time.”

The way he talked sometimes really sounded like he was hitting on her but Korsica had more pressing matters to worry about rather than worry about Chai’s weird word choices.

“Do you think you could check if Peppermint is still at her lab?”

“Sure. Why though?” 

“I want to talk to her. If she is there do you think you can stop her from getting back home? Just long enough for me to get there after I leave the office.”

“I sure can. She will be pissed though.”

“Why would she be pissed?”

“You will see.” Just like that he hung up, leaving Korsica confused. 

She only hoped he wouldn't do something incredibly stupid until she arrived.

Korsica took longer than expected to finish everything she had to do, staying at her office beyond her shift — fortunately she was only a few minutes behind schedule and with everything dealt with she could finally meet up with Chai, who luckily didn't have to distract Peppermint for too long.

After striding across many corridors, areas and taking two L.I.F.T.’s, Korsica found Chai resting against the wall next to Peppermint's lab with his arms folded behind his head.

“Chai! Let me out! I swear I will kill you when I get out of here!” The muffled voice of Peppermint could be heard coming from the other side of the door.

“What did you do, Chai? She is furious.” She said, mouth agape in shock.

“Well my partner in crime and I stopped Peppermint from leaving the lab just like you asked by hacking the door.” Chai pointed at 808 who waved her paw at her with a smile. “You're welcome.”

She pursed her lips, a slight furrow between her brows.

“You were supposed to distract her. Stall her? Not keep her captive!”

“It worked didn't it? 808 just needs to unhack the door and you're ready to go.”

Although Chai got the job done in the end, it didn't work out as Korsica hoped for. If Peppermint was angry before, now she was furious and that wouldn't make their conversation easier. 

“Alright.” Korsica sighed loudly. “You can open the door now.”

“With pleasure.” 

He nodded at 808 giving permission to unleash the beast. The black cat simply glued its paw to the door and a clicking noise was heard afterwards. The color of the door switched from red to green as well. Everything was operational and Peppermint knew she could exit the lab.

“Chai! Wait till I get my hands on y-” Peppermint didn't even finish the sentence as the door slid open. She was ready to face Chai and pounce on him but was stopped in her tracks by Korsica who was standing there both imposing and stunning like always.

“Oh. It's you.” She took a step back, crossed her arms and looked away.

“I better get going.” Chai made himself scarce, trying to avoid Peppermint's wrath as well as to give them some privacy. 808 stayed however.

“We will talk about this later.” She warned 808 who stared back at her innocently.

As soon as Chai was out of earshot Korsica cleared her throat, readying herself to speak up but Peppermint simply rolled her eyes and turned around to Korsica's consternation.

“What do you want?” Peppermint asked bitterly as she moved towards her desk.

“I… well… I don't really know where to start if I have to be honest.” 

Korsica hadn't thought that far.

“Great. You can leave and I can go home then.” Peppermint was doing a poor job hiding her inner turmoil and her passive aggressiveness was intense. “Also does my mom know you're here? Do you think it is wise for you to be here?”

It was obvious Peppermint was recalling the words Korsica had said days ago.

“Could we not talk about Roxanne right now?” Korsica was getting vexed but she willed herself to stay calm. 

“Fine.”

“Peppermint… I wanted to tell you how I really feel and explain myself about the other day…”

“I think you were very clear that night.” She said bluntly, still facing the opposite direction. 

“No.” Korsica considered her next words carefully. “I was too caught up in my insecurities and doubts that I wasn't speaking with my heart.”

“Yeah well… you got your point across either way. You don't want to be with me. End of story.” Peppermint tapped her metal foot repeatedly, growing impatient.

“You got it wrong.”

Hearing that hurt Korsica because it was absolutely not true. She did want to be with her. It was obvious Peppermint's sorrow had turned into anger as she dwelled on that. She had all the right to be hostile towards her though, she had hurt her after all.

The older woman stepped forward, closing the distance between them from behind. She reached out, wanting to hold her but stopped half of the way and her fingers simply stayed there grazing Peppermint's arm.

“You know… I didn't think you would want to be with someone my age… that's why I always tried my best to conceal my affection towards you.”

“I already told you. I don't care about that.” She repeated, looking slightly over her shoulder. “Also if I didn't… I don't think I would have flirted with you before.”

“You have a point… Can you please turn around though?” Korsica's request came out more like a plea.

“Why? Don't you think you said enough already?” Peppermint begrudgingly did as she was told, but not without snapping at her at the same time.

Before Peppermint could protest, Korsica hastily took her hand and placed it over her chest, right next to her implant and held it there. The blonde flinched instantly when the palm of her hand came into contact with Korsica's burning skin. The redhead noted with some satisfaction that her action made Peppermint blush profusely.

“That's why my heart is going to do the talking.”

Peppermint was shocked by how strongly Korsica's heart was pounding inside her ribcage. It felt like it was punching her hand with every beat, threatening to beat out of her chest and her eyes… her eyes were alighted with unwavering resolve.

“I can't feel anything.” She said, unconvincingly after collecting herself.

It looked like Korsica had taken offense to it though.

“What about now?” 

Without further warning Korsica pulled Peppermint tight to her chest, leaning her in so her head would be resting against it. She hated how Peppermint tensed up at her touch but she didn't let go, regardless. The agonizing silence engulfed them for a few seconds and Korsica was getting worried, until she felt Peppermint release a shaky breath and relax into her embrace. 

“Your heart… is racing…” It was pointless to keep pretending she couldn't hear Korsica's heart loud and clear.

“My heart is beating this way because of you.” Korsica started combing her fingers through her blonde hair, fondling it. “These past few days have been unbearable. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I can't fight against my heart. It wants what it wants and it wants you.”

Peppermint was dumbstruck but she did her best to push through what seemed to be Korsica's declaration of love. She pulled away a little, still refusing to make eye contact.

“I'm sorry.” She whispered.

“What are you apologizing for?” Korsica tilted her head, confused.

She huffed a laugh, expecting Korsica to know the answer already.

“For not being understanding… I said things I shouldn't have and I was insufferable these past few days. I know this job is important to you and you don't want to lose it.”

“Peppermint, I'm the one responsible for this. For as much as I love my job, you're more important. I don't want to lose you due to my insecurities.” Korsica spoke with utmost sincerity and Peppermint finally looked her in the eye.

“You would never lose me.” She seemed to hesitate a moment. “I love you, remember?” 

Somehow saying those three words didn't embarrass her anymore and despite the queasy feeling twisting her stomach, Peppermint yearned for Korsica's warmth but her short stature didn't let her reach her face, so she had to stand on tiptoes to finally be able to kiss her lightly on the cheek.

After that whirlwind of emotions Korsica had to go through, that simple kiss was enough to make her feel lightheaded with relief.

Korsica leaned forward conspiratorially. “The thought I might not be good enough for you due to being much older always lurked in the back of my head.”

Peppermint's lips quirked upwards. “Since when is Korsica the fiery Head of Security not good enough?”

Her warm smile was infectious and Korsica couldn't resist mirroring her expression. There was not much else they could say so silence took over, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. They just stayed there, relishing in each other's company and it felt good. It seemed they had reached an understanding, however there was still something they had to do to seal the deal and make it official.

“Do you give me permission to kiss you, Peppermint?” 

“You don't even need to ask.”

With their eyes half closed, they leaned into the kiss, letting warmth consume them. Their lips brushed fleetingly and Korsica could feel the tickle of Peppermint's breath beneath her nose. Her hands instinctively moved to Peppermint's waist, pulling her closer so their bodies would be pressed together. Soon enough their lips met once more. It felt like they hadn't kissed in ages and Peppermint eagerly wrapped her arms around Korsica’s shoulders, soaking up every bit of love she was offered.

All the love Korsica had bottled inside her was suddenly released, making her kiss more intensely but tenderly regardless. This time there were no doubts. She couldn't care less if Roxanne found out about them. Peppermint wanted to be with her so she wasn't going to waste such an honorable opportunity. Korsica could feel the thud of their combined heartbeat and her heart swelled with bliss. At that exact moment she felt truly happy and dare say… complete.

Slowly the two pulled apart, stepping back just far enough so they could lose themselves in each other's eyes. Despite the kiss only lasting a few seconds it felt like time had stopped around them. At that exact moment nothing existed beyond them and their bubble and Korsica couldn't not shower Peppermint with many kisses all over her face.

“Korsica, that's not fair.”

“What isn't?” She asked between smooches.

“You're cupping my cheeks and don't even let me return the gesture.”

“All in due time, Pep.” 

Suddenly they felt something rubbing against their legs and looked down to find none other than 808 pouting at them.

“I think she is jealous and wants attention too.” Peppermint surmised.

Korsica grinned broadly at the black cat and held out her hand for 808 to jump on top of. She wasn't heavy so Korsica managed to cradle her like a baby. As the cat snuggled against them, Peppermint petted her under the chin and an overwhelming sense of protectiveness washed over Korsica — she wanted to take care of Peppermint, protect her at all costs and make her the happiest woman on the island, better yet in the world. None of her previous partners had caused such an impact on her but Korsica was glad Peppermint had. Instinctively she ran her fingers through her hair with glee and leaned down, pressing a tender kiss on Peppermint's forehead. The reaction she got was all she expected: a warm smile from Peppermint and soon Korsica had the girl of her life nestled in her embrace with no intention to let go anytime soon — she might be hugging her a bit too hard, but Korsica couldn't wait for that to become an habit. 

She didn't want to admit it but she definitely had to thank Chai later… Hopefully he wouldn't brag too much about how great of a matchmaker he is.

Notes:

Hope you liked to read this story as much as I liked to write it. :)
I loved the game so much I even completed every achievement and challenge it had to offer so I had to write something for it.

Notes:

If you liked to read this consider checking out my original work. I published a book on amazon and it's available both in paperback and kindle format. It's not romance but has a lot of action and adventure!
True Defenders:birth