Catalina gently blew on her tea, watching as the steam rose from the mug. She carefully took a sip, eyeing the discarded sweater draped over the back of the couch. It was Kit’s, which came as a surprise to the Spaniard because the girl was never seen with it off. Given her past, it made sense.
The sweater was safe. The sweater kept her covered. The sweater protected her from the wandering gazes of men and wrapped her in a warm, reassuring hug when no one was around to provide one.
At least, that was what Catalina suspected.
Her eyes traveled over to the lump on the couch. A big, grey, fluffy blanket was occupying the entire half, with two heads poking out of the other side. If she squinted, she could just about make out the features of Cathy’s face and if she leaned forward, she could see the back of Kit’s head, where her face was tucked into the crook of Cathy's neck.
Adorable.
The surprising part (or not so surprising now that she thought about it), was the fact that Kit had willingly snuggled under the blanket, sweaterless, with Cathy.
If Catalina were to wager a guess, it was because Kit felt safe with her. She could see it in the way Kit’s shoulders relaxed whenever the final queen was around, in the way that she leaned back into her, allowing Cathy to wrap her in a loose hug while they were planning out a mission, in the way that only Cathy was allowed to interrupt her during one of her lab frenzies and drag her down to the table to eat something.
Catalina’s mouth opened in a silent “aww” when Kit snuggled closer to Cathy, the final queen automatically shifting so that she could still hold her.
“Hey, babe,” Anne said, poking her head through the doorway, “What’re you doing?”
Catalina whirled around, making a shushing gesture with her finger. Anne raised her hands, shuffling closer.
“My apologies,” she whispered, twirling a lock of Catalina's hair around her finger, “What’re you doing?”
“Drinking tea,” Catalina replied, leaning slightly into Anne's hand.
Anne raised a brow. “And I have to be quiet because…?”
Catalina pointed at the two soft beans snuggled on the couch. A smile spread over Anne's face and she plopped down next to Catalina, stealing a sip of her tea. Catalina’s mouth dropped open in fake offense and Anne pressed a quick kiss to her jaw in thanks.
“They are so cute together,” she murmured, reaching for Catalina’s mug again. Catalina gave it to her with an exasperated frown but wrapped an arm around her and let Anne lean into her side.
“You’re lucky you’re cute or else I would've kicked you off the chair,” Catalina whispered in reply. Anne flashed her a cheeky grin.
Together, the two continued to watch, quietly passing the mug back and forth until it was empty. Wordlessly, Catalina stood, quickly refilling the mug and settling down again. Anne immediately nestled into her side, curling her legs up into the chair and stealing the mug once more. Catalina only shook her head and wrapped her up in a hug.
“How long do you think it’s been since either of them had any sleep?” Anne whispered, pressing her lips lightly against Catalina's ear. Catalina jerked away with a grimace and Anne silently wheezed, dangerously tipping the mug.
“I think it's been a few days at least,” she replied, scrubbing at her ear. She snatched the mug back and took a sip, wrinkling her nose at Anne, who was still laughing.
“What are you two doing?” Jane asked, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. They exchanged a look and simultaneously pointed at the couch.
“Observing,” they replied.
“You have to stay quiet though,” Catalina said with a grin, “Or you might wake them.”
Jane furrowed her brows and walked over, her hand clapping over her heart when she saw the sight.
“Oh, that's precious,” she whispered.
“I know, right?” Anne replied with a fond eye roll. “They are disgustingly adorable.”
“Oh, like you aren't like that with Lina,” Jane replied with a gentle whack.
“That’s different,” Anne replied, whacking Jane in response.
“Ladies, if you're going to argue do it somewhere else,” Catalina said, “we don't want to wake them up.”
Jane sighed, plopping down in another chair, and pulling out her phone. “Listen to your girlfriend, Anne,” she said. Anne stuck her tongue out and returned to Catalina's side.
“Apologies, mon amour,” she muttered, nuzzling Catalina's neck. Catalina rolled her eyes again and dropped a kiss on her head.
“All is forgiven, mi amorcita,” she replied before taking another sip.
The next to join them was Anna, who immediately draped herself around Jane's back without question. Jane blushed and patted her hand, dropping a quick kiss on the back of it before returning to her phone.
“You’d think that that,” the German whispered, waving her hand in the general direction of the two sleeping queens, “would be a bright flashing sign in front of them but you’d be wrong.”
“Gosh they’re so oblivious,” Anne groaned, covering her eyes with her hand, “they might as well staple ‘I love you’ in all caps to their foreheads but even that might be too subtle.”
“They’d just think that it was meant platonically,” Jane added, glancing up from her phone, “or that it was meant for someone else.”
Everyone sighed and watched as the two curled impossibly closer.
“They are unfairly cute,” Anna muttered, “Janey, are we that cute?”
“My love, we can’t beat them at their own game,” Jane replied, reaching up and squeezing Anna’s hand. Anna pouted.
“Hey!” Micah called, skidding into the room, “has anyone seen Inari’s Teapot? Jenkins—”
The queens whipped around, immediately shushing her but it was too late. Cathy awoke with a start, almost falling off the couch with Kit not far behind. The final queen blinked at them, tugging the blanket higher so that Kit remained covered.
“What are you guys doing?” Cathy asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Ay carajo, Micah!” Catalina exclaimed, standing up, “You just had to wake them up!” She set the mug down on the table with a solid thump and glared at the Guardian.
“What?” Micah asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
“They looked so peaceful!” Anne added, crossing her arms.
“Do you know how hard it is to get Cathy to sleep willingly?” Anna asked, covering her face with her hands to hide her grin.
“That's fair,” Cathy muttered, tugging Kit closer to her. Kit rested her head on Cathy’s collarbone, still half asleep.
“How about Kit?” Jane added, waving her phone in their general direction.
“Hey!” Kit replied with a pout. Cathy patted her head and she curled up further.
Micah blinked at the onslaught of angry questions and glanced around the room. “Right,” she said, still extremely confused as to why they were yelling at her, “Obviously, I interrupted something so let me just take this.”
She picked up the teapot that Catalina had used to make her tea and headed towards the door.
“And let you nerds go back to your nap,” she said, swiftly exiting the room.
Catalina groaned and flopped back into her seat. Anne stared at her, reaching for the half-empty mug on the table.
“What?” she asked. Anne took a slow sip, never breaking eye contact.
“This is your fault,” her girlfriend said, cradling the mug in her hands.
“How?” Catalina replied, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
“You’re the one who made the tea!”
----