literature

One Teeny Little Crush

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“Xander,” Claire whines into her hands, “make it stop.”

“I don’t think you can make crushes stop.” Xander answers from the opposite end of the couch. He looks absolutely amused with her current predicament, and that makes her face heat up more. “You like who you like, and you have fallen head over heels for Vanessa.”

Claire parts a few of her fingers so she can peek at him, and glares. “I have not fallen for her. It's just a crush.”

“Sure.” Xander answers with a smile, looking back down at his book again. “You keep telling yourself that.”

He has a point, but she isn’t about to admit that – she is not in love – so she settles instead for hitting him with a pillow. That just makes him burst into laughter, however, so she makes a mental note to not go easy on him tomorrow during training.



For an entire week, Claire is convinced that she isn’t in love. She mumbles it to herself in the shower, when she’s in line for breakfast, and at night while she’s doing her chores. But on the seventh day, when Vanessa insists on helping her mop the floors in the mess hall, she finally realizes it, and sits in the library to sulk in solitude.

And given the look on Xander’s face when he strolls in and she admits it, he’s surprised she made it this long.

“Is it really that obvious?” Claire asks, biting her lip as he sits down next to her.

“I don’t know.” Xander answers. “But I’ve known you for so long we’re practically family, and I know you well enough to know you really like her.”

Claire blushes, looking at her feet, but he patiently waits for her to sort through her thoughts. “You’ve been in relationships before,” she asks after a moment, looking back at him, “what should I do?”

“Give it time,” he answers, “and when you’re ready, tell her.”



When winter arrives, Vanessa sews several scarves and sells them to members of their branch. Her mother is a seamstress for the village Vanessa grew up in, and taught her everything she knows. And when Claire recites all of this to Xander, practically word for word, he teases her. She punches him in the arm for it, but still laughs.

On her way to training one morning, Vanessa stops her in the hallway. “I made one for you,” she says, and passes it to her. “It’s a gift – you were the first friend I ever made here, and you’ve helped me with training more than I will ever be able to repay you for, so thank you.”

Claire accepts the gift, absolutely speechless. It’s beautiful and long, and made of some kind of fuzzy blue material that Claire knows isn’t made anywhere in this region. Vanessa must have brought it with her when she left home.

“Thank you,” Claire breathes, “but this is too nice—“ She never gets the chance to finish, because Vanessa ties it around her neck, and her face heats up. “Yes,” she adds, awkwardly, when Vanessa raises an eye brow at her, “this is too nice. Thank you.”

Vanessa smiles at her one last time before they part, her to go to the training rooms, and Claire to meet the rest of the trainees outside. Vanessa will join her and Xander next week, when she completes her basic training.

“She sewed me a scarf, Xander!” Claire exclaims when she meets him partway, her fingers digging into his shirt when she shakes him. “Tell me it’s a sign!”

Xander gives a sharp whistle. “Holy shit,” he says, “you are in love.” Claire punches him in the shoulder, but she can’t stop grinning.

By the time the entire group makes its trek to their destination, however, Claire’s forgotten about the scarf around her neck. She remembers it’s there, though, when during her first spar, her opponent yanks hold of it and lands a hit, costing her the match. Eliska shakes her head at her, and Claire smiles sheepishly at their instructor.

“You would’ve been dead if your opponent was trying to kill you.” Eliska scolds. “I hope you realize that.”

“Won’t happen again, Eliska.” Claire promises, hastily folding the scarf and tucking it away into her bag where it will be safe.

“I know you’re trying to be a badass,” Xander teases, and by the look on his face, he’s enjoying every moment of her embarrassment, “but Eliska’s right. You really shouldn’t have done that.”



“This tastes really good!”

“It’s my mother’s recipe.” Vanessa answers with a grin. “Thank you for helping me find all the ingredients in town today. I really miss food from home sometimes.”

“You’re welcome.” Claire answers with a smile. It’s her first time trying Eastern food, but they had to substitute some of the ingredients. She wonders if someday she’ll be able to see the East and all of the dishes Vanessa has talked about.

“Hey, so I was wondering,” Vanessa says, pushing some vegetables around on her plate, “would you like to go out tomorrow?”

“Yeah!” Claire answers. “We don’t have training tomorrow, so Xander should be free after his shift in the kitchen. We can go to that place you’ve been wanting to eat at.”

Vanessa’s face turns beet red, and Claire blinks at her. “Actually,” Vanessa replies, “I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me.”

Claire nearly chokes. “Really?” She exclaims with wide eyes. Her surprise changes to excitement as soon as the words register, and she beams at Vanessa. “Yes, I’d love to!”

The horrified look on Vanessa’s face fades into a smile, and she sighs. “That’s a relief,” she admits, “I really like you, and last week when I asked Xander for advice he said I had to ask you out and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Written for day 25 of Flash Fiction Month.

I used Ozuchi-Kozuchi's challenge, which required the following:

- Rom-Com
-"You shouldn't have done that."
-Found families
-Invert the Scarf of Asskicking Trope
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Ozuchi-Kozuchi's avatar
All I ever wanted~ Like, I made strange squeaky noises, it was so great. They have a really great dynamic going, even in the shorter pieces, but it really shines here. :}