Midnight
The walk from the record store to the bar wasn't long but it felt so because of the lack of talking they did during it.
Silence filled the void between them ever since the reveal and Rhaenyra wanted to take off the bracelet and chew it till it turns into small pieces of ruins for having interrupted that moment.
It made no sense. Mysaria did not look upset. She was surprised and confused for a while, her eyes were in thought for a bit before she left the booth and put her coat on, giving a dumbfounded Rhaenyra a glimpse that signaled her to follow along and they were off into the night again.
Mysaria seemed to know the bartender when they walked in, greeting the woman with just a rise of her eyebrows.
Now they were playing pool In a semi crowded bar. In silence.
Rhaenyra was winning.
"This goes on, I get to buy you a drink" Rhaenyra said as she leaned in, she braced the stick, pulled back, and in.
Hit. It was in.
"Oh! Would you look at that!?" Rhaenyra acted surprised at her win. "What should I get you?"
Mysaria rounded the table, her hand dragging on the tip of it all the way to Rhaenyra's side.
"When you go there tell her to dig out the Hibiki 21" She whispered a little too close
Rhaenyra got closer, an eyebrow raised teasingly, "uhm? I thought I was the one with the expensive tastes?"
"It's only when it comes to alcohol and lingerie." Mysaria said, she leaned even closer, the playfulness flooding back to her eyes. "As it should be."
And she touched Rhaenyra, a soft palm to her chest leading to a slight shove.
Rhaenyra blushed. Hard. Head tucked down so she doesn't get caught in the act.
She went and got the drinks, settling for a beer herself which was priced at nothing compared to the glass of whiskey for Mysaria but she didn't care and even kept the tap open in case they wanted another drink.
They settled for a table on the far end of the room, dimly lit, intimate but not suffocating.
"How old is he?" Mysaria finally asked after what seemed like an eternity for Rhaenyra.
"He's ten!" She replied too eagerly, excitement overwhelming for a reason which remains unknown to her. It was guttural. Something inside of her bubbling to tell this, now semi stranger, about her son. Her life.
She recollected her tone by taking a sip from her beer, "he's the oldest."
Mysaria's eyes bulged out slightly, then narrowed, "There's...there's more?!"
Her voice wasn't judgemental at all, it was surprise laced with curiosity.
Rhaenyra nodded, drawing a small smile on thin pink lips, "There's also Luke. He's four"
"Wow..."
"What? I don't look like a mother?"
Mysaria laughed, a little too loud, like she's been caught off guard by a ridiculous joke.
Rhaenyra watched her, The sound of the laugh too perfect, the sight in front of her too amusing.
A few whiskey sips later, Mysaria looked at Rhaenyra, her eyes serious and apologetic.
"I didn't mean to laugh a-.." Rhaenyra shock her head, "I know, I know, you weren't offended. I just..." she smiled, "you look so..."
"Young?" A quirky eyebrow teased
"Burdened."
The word, said in the most tender way, hit the pause button and now they stared at one another.
Rhaenyra's smile didn't fade if anything it deepened along with a flicker of sadness in her eyes, the blue in them suddenly seemed to be filled with small little flakes of broken pieces.
Mysaria's heart winced. She never meant for the word to be so harmful and she knows the other woman knew that as well. Still, guilt began to fill up her lungs.
She cleared her throat before shifting in her seat, "And..." The nerves in her hands moving on their own and moving her glass of whiskey slightly to the left. "You're too blonde!"
"What!? What does that have to do with having kids!?" The gloomy cloud was burst into oblivion by the laugh in Rhaenyra's voice, "you're ridiculous!"
"It's an observation. I've never seen a parent as blonde as you" Mysaria said truthfully.
"Well..now you have so congratulations!" Rhaenyra raised her beer to her and down the entire bottle, Mysaria only took a sip and it earned her a glare from the other woman, "I will not bottom up an eighty-five dollars shot."
"Tap's open, night's young, I'll get you another" Rhaenyra said, too charming, too daring, the alcohol making a strong appearance in her bloodstream.
Mysaria smiled and it was different. Dreamy and distracted. Like she was looking at a beautiful Llama as it walked through a field of sunflowers.
It was intoxicating.
And her eye twitched, hand searching for anything to grab onto and settling for the back of her own neck, rubbing slowly at the flushed skin there.
"How old are you?" Mysaria was looking at her, she was studying, scanning, as if she was a painting. A canvas of obvious colors and messy lines.
"You first" A weak challenge back, stare too shaky, voice too shy, she wished for a cigarette.
"Guess"
"30" Rhaenyra blurted out. Too quick.
Mysaria clicked her tongue, not satisfied with the answer, "Take your time"
Look at me. That's what she's saying. See me.
The shift in the atmosphere was as insane as the woman in front of her and all Rhaenyra wanted to do was scream and run for the exit.
But she didn't. She did as she was told and took her time.
With her hair tied up in a loose bun, long strays falling out and some of them dripped over her face, her make-up is light as ever, the eyeliner being the dominant factor, it was all messy as ever and contrary to the state of her well put together outfit and it's matching calm and dark colors.
Mature, reckless, you'd think her careless about the openin but the expensive earrings show you she cares. A lot.
The current expression she had on her face was a warm sensual smile, the tiniest wrinkles formed at the corners of her eyes.
"Early thirties...?" Rhaenyra half questioned half answered.
"Warm, but not enough." Mysaria teased.
"What? Older?" Mysaria nodded, Rhaenyra looked at her suspiciously, "you're trying to throw me off" She pointed an accusation finger at her, "you're thirty-three." She made the verdict.
"Ha!" Mysaria snorted, hand hitting the table for soundtrack, "you're far off."
Rhaenyra's eyes rounded, like a kid's eyes do when someone tells them Santa Claus isn't real, "you're lying"
"My turn!" Mysaria leaned in, full of confident, "you're thirty-five!"
Rhaenyra's whole face changed, her round eyes got even rounded and her jaw opened for a brief second before she caught it.
"There's no way..." Rhaenyra said, "that's not fair!" She objected, now her hand hitting the table lightly.
"It was a lucky guess." Mysaria soothed the sweet silver haired loser, "and for what it's worth, no one ever gets me right."
Rhaenyra doesn't know why but that sentence upsets her for some reason.
She wanted to get it right. She needs to get it right.
"Can I get another go at it?" And with all her strength, she conjured the saddest most devastating shade of blue to her eyes.
"Oh wow.." even in the dim lights, the change didn't go unnoticed by Mysaria, "you know what? Go ahead"
Rhaenyra stared, fully on, ignoring the painful knot that formed at the lowest part of her stomach the minute she looked Mysaria in the eyes.
denouncing the shiver that ran through her spine when her eyes landed on Mysaria's lips for a second.
"Ignore the first five numbers" The corners of her mouth had the most delicious small lines on each side.
"Thirty-three" Rhaenyra blurted out, too distracted by the way Mysaria's lips moved, "wait, wait, wait, I didn't me-" She rushed her words trying to stop a now giggling Mysaria from ending things.
"It's do-"
In an attempt to stop the word, Rhaenyra reached in and touched Mysaria's hand that was laying on the table, "wait! I meant to say Thirty-five! It's Thirty-five!" She said in a haze.
The striking warmth of Rhaenyra's hand made Mysaria too aware of how cold her own hand was and now she suddenly felt an urgent need to keep it on like a jacket.
It all went unnoticed by Rhaenyra though, who seemed too immersed in wanting to be the first to ever get it right.
"I told you to skip five numbers, Rhaenyra."
Back to earth. Rhaenyra realized she has lost.
She also realized what position they were both in, her hand on top of Mysaria's and the chilled nature of the skin under her warm palm.
And yet again the atmosphere changed.
From the high in sexual tension air to sickening familiarity.
"I'm thirty-eight." Mysaria said shyly, "now, can you relax please? Tiana is staring"
Rhaenyra knew her face probably looked ridiculous, Dumbfounded and dazed by literally everything this woman, stranger, this older woman stranger with the coldest skin in the world does and say.
She sat back, slowly retracting her hand back and ignoring the way slender fingers followed her movement for a few seconds before stilling in place.
Rhaenyra looked back to see the person Mysaria's referring to only to find the bartender, Tiana, in fact, staring at them.
"She hates fun" Mysaria said under her breath while gesturing for the girl in question for another drink for the both of them, "and confrontation. Watch this."
And as Tiana rounded the bar and came to their table, a beer in one hand and a bottle of whiskey.
She replaced the empty beer with a fresh one, and as she was rifling the whiskey glass, Mysaria spoke, her tone more teasing than ever, "Sorry about the noise, even though we're in a bar"
And the way she said the words, the way Tiana, tall athletic green eyed redhead Tiana, seemed to react to them made Rhaenyra want to do two things.
Throw up.
Then get a scissor and cut the entire audacity of the redhead's hair.
Instead, she just watched shy Tiana giggle like a school girl, a soft "Don't worry about it." Rolling out of her lips before escaping the scene.
"We used to date." Mysaria said casually, "a long time ago."
"Of course, you're ancient."
"It's only a three years difference"
They spent the next few minutes after that mirroring each other in silence and taking a sip of their drinks whenever the other does.
"Can I ask you something?" Rhaenyra finally spoke.
"Sure" Mysaria replied.
"Earlier, when i asked..." Rhaenyra hated the hesitation in her voice, " you said I seemed burdened-"
"I shouldn't have said that" Mysaria cut in apologetically.
Rhaenyra raised her hands and stopped her, "No, it's alright.." she ran her fingers through her hair, "I just...don't you think that should make me look more like a parent?"
"I mean, I wouldn't know" Mysaria smiled "but obviously I was wrong"
Rhaenyra nodded. "Okay." But her eyes seemed lost.
"You're not an awful mother, Rhaenyra" Mysaria said, a reassuring smile on her face, "I only said that because i saw you smoke fifty cigarettes in one sitting."
"But you wouldn't know, right?" Rhaenyra said, her tone unreadable, "If i'm an awful mother or not"
Mysaria shock her head in disagreement, "you're wearing a bracelet with one of your sons' name on it. That says a lot."
They fell into silence again but this time it was long. The longest they've had in the night.
The sign of lateness was evident in the way the once half empty bar was now completely drained of people, save for them and Tiana.
The alcohol was creeping in between them too loudly, disturbing the signals of communications on both sides, but mostly Rhaenyra's.
"What are they like?" Mysaria searched for blue, but Rhaenyra was suddenly too interested in what the bottle of her beer looked like.
Nonetheless, she spoke, her voice low and filled with love, love and a whim of agony.
"Jacaerys, he's kind and very, very sweet. Lucerys is loud." She chuckled, "but I can already tell he's got too much of my recklessness, i hope it fades away when he's older"
She laid both arms on the table and leaned in, fingers playing with the bracelet on her wrist absent-mindidly.
"Jacaerys and Lucerys...that is very mystical of you"
"Oh, you have no idea." Rhaenyra said, reaching for her pocket and pulling out her phone eagerly. She scrolled a few times before lifting the screen to Mysaria.
The picture was simple, as simple as one of those royal baby pictures where the child is well dressed on a normal wednesday.
The older brother held the younger one in his arms affectionately, he had a big smile on his face while the other one seemed too upset for photo time, his face red and tear stained.
Jacaerys had Rhaenyra's nose and the sharpness of her eyes, minus the blue. His hair was curly and dark.
His brother had the same hair and instead of her nose he seems to have gotten her lips.
They looked nothing like Rhaenyra but they were Rhaenyra in every way.
"They're adorable!" Mysaria examined, "too bad your genes lost the fight halfway through the process on both of them"
Rhaenyra ignored the statement, Tiana was enough of a reminder of who she lost the battle of genes for.
"Jace is obsessed with video games so maybe I'll call in a favor one day"
Mysaria's eyes lit up, "You have no idea what kind of leverage I'm sitting on right now" she said mischievously and Rhaenyra realized she never asked where the other woman worked, "oh? Is that so?"
Mysaria reached with her hand, one finger tapping lightly over the bracelet on Rhaenyra's hand, "Let's just say I can get him a copy of GTA a few months before it's release so, be nice to me"
Rhaenyra let out a small gasp in surprise before shaking her head in disbelief, "You work at Rockstar?"
The tapping stopped, but the hand stayed in the missed warmth of Rhaenyra's skin.
"I cannot confirm nor deny that accusation."
"I designed a house for a guy that worked there a few years ago" Soft, invisible circles were being drawn on the back of her hand, "interesting people"
"Not your kind of crowd? Too nerdy for you?"
"Quite the opposite actually, he was sort of.." their eyes finally connected again and the burst inside Mysaria's chest made her realize just how much she missed the contact. "He was like you."
"In what way?"
Rhaenyra thought for a second, then very carefully picked her words, "quiet but wit, he didn't look like a video games nerd, he was so serious i didn't expect it. It was baffling"
Mysaria smiled, "you don't look like an architect mother of two either"
Rhaenyra snorted and ran her free hand through her silver locks, "It's the haircut"
"What was his name? The witty guy?" Mysaria asked.
"Marcus Davis"
Mysaria slapped her hand and Rhaenyra got so startled she let out a loud noise, "Aw! What was that for!?"
"I knew him! He was the most annoying person I've ever met in my entire life, Rhaenyra, how could you say he acted like me!" And if it wasn't for the smile on her face as she spoke Rhaenyra would've thought she was seriously offended by this.
So she chuckled and pushed forward, "you know what they say, we tend to hate those most like us."
"Wow!" Mysaria slumped back on her chair, crossing her arms over her chest like a little kid, "I could easily get you thrown out of here, you know." She looked at Tiana who was too busy cleaning things up around the empty bar.
"Hey" Rhaenyra offered her hand on the table, Mysaria looked away, "give me your hand"
Mysaria gave in. Bitterly.
Rhaenyra held it, the coldness of it dearly welcomed back into her palm, "I apologize for my past mistakes and I promise not to repeat them in the next few..." she took a look at her watch, it was midnight, "minutes on our walk to my car"
The implication of their night coming to an ending leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.
Whether Mysaria shared that sentiment or not was unknown given the fact that her face showed no sign sadness, she gave only a nod.
"I forgive you. And we do need to leave actually, she's got a curfew" she pointed at the redhead.
They both stood up at the same time, Rhaenyra suddenly unaware of what her next move is supposed to be.
"I'll get the coats." Mysaria declared.
"I'll..I'll close the tap."
Rhaenyra went to the bar and waited for Tiana who was putting away the last pool stick into it's place, her and Mysaria shared a look and Mysaria said something that made Tiana laugh.
It was annoying. So Rhaenyra busied herself with her wallet instead.
When Tiana finally got to the bar she said nothing, only taking the card from Rhaenyra's hand to pay for the drinks.
Under the green and white lights of the bar, Tiana looked so much like Aliecnt it was disturbingly addictive.
"Be careful"
Perfect lips spoke as she handed the card back.
"Mysaria is hunting your soul"
Rhaenyra's eyebrows knotted in confusion.
Tiana went back to wrapping things up.
And Mysaria waited by the exit.
"This fucking night" Rhaenyra said under her breath, chuckling to herself in disbelief.