So why put off for tomorrow what I could get done today

Cinder didn’t know how to react to Vivian Carrington approaching her table. She gave the woman a look that must have been quite a fright coming from her, with wide eyes and an expression of shock, like a deer caught in the headlights.

The key reason for that was because her brain was refusing to work properly, and she didn’t know what to say to the other woman. Her mouth flopped open and closed, and she stared in confusion at the brunette as she tried to piece together what she was feeling right now.

Cinder’s thoughts towards other people were complicated. Her greatest priority was and always would be Ella. In her eyes, the purpose of her existence was keeping Ella safe from the people who were trying to hurt her. And that meant that she didn’t have time or things like friends. She was meant to screen Ella’s friends- to keep them from hurting her.

But because of her recent transformation, that was changing.

“Hello there. Remember me?” Vivian had a tight, diplomatic smile on her face. If she still held a grudge towards Cinder for what happened in the challenge, she hid it well- the latina was sensitive to hostility from other people, but she couldn’t feel any coming from her.

This woman… Vivian. Ella feels a sense of indebtedness towards her, for helping her out with her date. But how do I know that? …Right, my transformation. While Cinder had always held a slight feeling about Ella’s emotions towards others (necessary for her to carry out her role as Ella’s protector) her mental state had shifted drastically in the last 24 hours.

Now it feels like I’m indebted to her as well. Almost as if I… like her? No, that can’t be. Cinder felt a sour taste in mouth even humoring that possibility. But at the same time, she found it undeniable.

Which resulted in a feeling of unease as Vivian spoke to her. She just didn’t know how she was supposed to respond.

“…What do you want?” She finally croaked out, narrowing her baggy eyes into a glare. Whether as Cinder or Ella, neither girl had managed to get much sleep last night- both had been dreading the potential fallout from Cinder’s actions in the last challenge, in their own ways.

“I just wanted to come over and see how you’re doing this morning, that’s all!” Vivian said, inviting herself to sit down across from Cinder before the other woman could respond.

Cinder looked at her in alarm. “…What?”

Vivian propped up her elbows on the table (an act of poor manners that would result in her being chastised by Octavia had the butler been present) and cradled her chin with the back of her hands as she gave the other woman a dewy look.

“You’re here sitting alone by yourself. Wouldn’t it be nice to have breakfast with a friend?” Vivian asked sweetly.

Cinder looked like she was going to ****.

“Breakfast with… a friend?” She breathed, giving the other woman a vacant stare. “What do you think I am?” Her face shifted into a look of contempt. “I don’t need something like that,” she snapped, narrowing her eyes. “We’re not friends.”

Vivian winced for a moment, but pushed her discomfort aside and proceeded. “Maybe not,” she agreed, shaking her head. “But you still came here for a reason, right?”

“That’s right,” Cinder growled, piercing a breakfast sausage with the tines of her fork and tearing into it with her teeth. “To eat breakfast.”

“You could have had breakfast brought to your room,” Vivian pointed out, immediately dismissing Cinder’s attempt to shield herself. The outcast froze, and Vivian narrowed her eyes. “But you didn’t. You came here, because on some level, I think you wanted to be around other people, isn’t that right? You wanted to get closer to the other women in the same situation that you’re in. Even just spending time in the same room as them. That’s my guess, anyway.”

What did she know?! Cinder clenched her fork tightly, and contemplated jabbing it into the other woman’s exposed throat. But she restrained herself. She couldn’t think like that anymore. She couldn’t act like that anymore.

Ella would pay the price if she tried, and that was unacceptable. So all she could do was sit there in impotent rage and glare at the woman in front of her, sulking and seething and incapable of doing what she actually wanted to do.

What that was, she didn’t know quite yet.

“I thought we got off on the wrong foot before,” Vivian said, cautiously trying to move forward with the other girl. “If you’re worried I have hard feelings about you shooting me, don’t be! It was a game, and that’s how it’s played. Can’t win ‘em all, right?”

Cinder stared at her in surprise. She didn’t expect the other girl to be so understanding. Suspicion welled up inside of her and she narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?” She demanded again. “Are you really here… just to talk?”

“Would it be so bad if I was?” Vivian asked, sitting up straight and looking across the table at the other woman. “It seemed like you could use a friend right now. All alone over here, wanting to reach out to the other girls but not sure how to do it. And we don’t even have to talk or anything if you don’t want to! I’m find just sharing the space with you.”

She took a deep, cleansing breath, and exhaled slowly, showing Cinder that all she was after was a nice, peaceful coexistence.

Of course, to Cinder, it was another red flag to toss on the pile. She was on high alert, like always, and the presence of the other woman was far from the relaxing interaction Vivian hoped it was.

But she also couldn’t bring herself to tell Vivian to fuck off, either. As good as it would feel, the petulant outburst would be like admitting to Vivian that she couldn’t behave rationally. And Cinder was too proud to do what the heiress expected of her.

“If you’re fine with me being here, just keep looking all mean and sulky,” Vivian suggested with a charming smile that made the latina want to retch. But Cinder held her tongue, knowing better than to encourage her further with words.

“…Fine,” she growled out, returning to her breakfast. “Stay here if you fucking want, I don’t fucking care.”

Vivian flashed a charming smile that Cinder ignored. The latina would never admit it… but a part of her did feel a little less lonely now that she was eating with someone else.

Recognizing that would take a lot of growth on her part, sadly.

Meanwhile, across the room, a conversation that was a bit more productive and positive was occurring, at least for the most part.

“Dakota said we could go to the store to buy some planting seeds for our room, I wonder what kinds she has in stock?” Sylvia wondered as she and Marley discussed their plans for the day.

“I’m curious too, there were all sorts of interesting plants growing in the garden with me way back when. Did you have any other favorites?” Marley asked.

Carly felt a little bit like a third wheel- which was strange, because usually it was her getting all the attention, and Marley off on the sidelines.

“Come on you two,” Carly groaned, rolling her eyes. “Just let me come with, it’s my room too, you know!”

“Nope, sorry,” Marley said, shaking her head. “Sylvia’s gonna copy your transformation for today, and make herself our sister again.”

“It’s weird though!” Carly objected. “She’s your mother, having her also be our sister, that’s weird!”

“You didn’t find it weird every other time we did it,” Sylvia pointed out. Her lips curled up into a playful smile. “So what’s the difference this time?”

Carly blushed a little.

“Well… your motives this time around are a little suspect,” she said, laughing awkwardly. “Come on, we’ve been over this. If I was going to spend the day to myself, shouldn’t it be with Dani? Besides, Marley, you’re the one who wants a romantic relationship with Nick, so trying to get me to hang out with him by myself-”

“You hung out just the two of you all the time way back when,” Marley interrupted her sister. “Don’t try to shift it over to me. For a while now, you’ve been trying to avoid Nick, when before you used to be all over him!”

“Marley’s right,” Sylvia nodded in agreement. “Remember your first date on the island with Daddy? You two went climbing that mountain together and you had a blast!”

“That… it was different back then.” Carly’s face heated up. “If it’s just about having sex, I can do that no problem. But you two are making such a big deal out of it, like it’s something more than that!” She felt like the two of them were trying to hook her up with Nick on a blind date or something. It was putting undue pressure on her for reasons she couldn’t understand.

Marley and Sylvia glanced at each other, sharing a blank, confused look.

“…Carly, we’re not trying to do anything like that,” Sylvia said, shaking her head.

“Yah, you’re way overthinking this,” Marley agreed. “If you’re feeling pressure then it’s all in your head, don’t worry about it. There’s no expectation whatsoever other than you two going and having a good time together.”

Sylvia nodded. “Yeah, no one’s gonna say anything if you decide that you just want to screw Daddy’s brains out all day,” she chirped. “Go on! Live a little! Have a blast!”

Carly stared at her and Marley winced. “That was a little… excessive,” she said, shaking her head. “But Sylvia’s right. Is something the matter, sis?” Carly wasn’t usually this apprehensive about spending time with boys. “Is it about Dani?”

“Dani? No, no, everything’s fine with us!” Carly denied, quickly shaking her head. “Dani said I could spend as much time with Nick as I wanted.”

“Then what’s the big deal?” Sylvia still didn’t understand herself. Unless… “Wait!” Her eyes widened with excitement. “Are you starting to have feelings for Daddy!? That is it, isn’t it?”

“What!?” Carly reacted in alarm. She looked around the room, hoping no one else had overheard that. The last thing she needed was Rose getting the wrong idea and thinking she was a romantic rival or something like that! “No, I’m not! Marley’s the one who has feelings for him, not me!”

“Oh my god.” Marley’s eyes widened as she suddenly figured out why her sister was being so apprehensive. She’d seen this reaction from Carly before, rarely.

It had flared up the few times before when they were kids, when she was trying desperately to turn away the feelings of a boy that Marley developed a crush on.

“…You don’t want to spend time with him because of me,” Marley realized, leaning across the table to get a closer look at her sister’s startled face. “Because of my feelings for him. This is just like back in high school!”

Carly turned pale. “Well… well, you like him,” she mumbled, averting her eyes. “I can’t exactly pursue the guy my sister’s got feelings for.”

Huh? Since when? Marley had harbored an interest in Nick since the day she met him, and that hadn’t stopped her sister from practically throwing herself at the guy on multiple occasions.

“…I mean, casual sex is one thing, there’s no issue with that,” Carly clarified. “But spending time getting close to him, like a date…”

Ah. Yeah, that made a lot more sense.

“Are you afraid you’re going to fall for him too, and turn his into some kind of competition?” Marley asked, raising her eyebrow. “Because you know I already got kicked off the show.”

“It’s not about that!” Carly’s face heated up.

“Well, good. Because Nick isn’t that kind of guy, you know that,” Marley said, shaking her head.

“Yup! Daddy has more than enough love for both of you,” Sylvia chimed in.

Carly sighed. “I just don’t want to be a bother, Marley,” she said gently, looking to her sister. “I know how you feel about Nick. You’re not exactly subtle. So I just thought that spending too much time with the guy you like, well… doesn’t that kind of seem a little…”

“Where was this enlightened perspective when you had me on my back with my legs pried open for his enjoyment?” Marley asked dryly.

“…That was different.”

Carly had changed a lot since then. Ever since getting into a relationship with Dani, she’d grown more aware of things that she’d previously dismissed out of hand. Notions like wanting to be your partner’s everything, and the pain that jealousy could bring.

She wanted to spare her sister from that, if possible.

Marley, seeing the turmoil playing out across her sister’s face, sighed and slumped back in her seat. “Hey, look, it’s not a big deal,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m fine. Really.”

Carly blinked. “You’re okay with it, then? Nick and I…”

“It’s the show, sis,” Marley bluntly replied. “And I know you and Nick are great together. I’d hate to think you’re depriving yourself of spending time with a close friend because you’re afraid of how I’d take it. And heck- if you actually did develop feelings for him, like how you feel for Dani? I’d be fine with that, too!”

She reached out and cradled her sister’s hand. “I love you. I want you to be happy, too.”

To Carly, hearing that from her sister was like a massive weight being lifted off her shoulders. She let out a sigh of relief and slumped over, a smile creeping up her lips as she raised her head and looked Marley in the eye.

“So it’s okay if I go see Nick, then?” She asked. Without having to worry about sparing Marley’s feelings, now there was nothing she wanted more.

Marley grinned, and nodded. “Of course I’m okay with that,” she assured her sister. “You should spend all the time you want with him, it’s your day, after all.”

“Okay, great!” Carly hopped up from her seat, her face glowing like the sun. She left her half-eaten breakfast where it was, feeling full for a completely different reason. “You’re the best, Marley! Thank you!”

“H-hey, wait a minute! I didn’t say you could leave right now!” Marley nearly fell off the bench trying to get up, realizing what her sister was about to do.

She didn’t reach Carly in time before her sister crossed the threshold, and splatted her into slime.

Sylvia winced. “Oof. Bummer.” She pulled up a screen and made her decision, copying the Grangers’ transformation and joining Carly and Marley as a sister.

Immediately Marley reformed, and she was hopping mad.

“Stupid jerk,” she mumbled, plopping back down into her seat and biting into her mountain of pancakes. “A little warning would have been nice!”

“…Let’s get you some more food,” Sylvia suggested. Nothing helped her daughter-turned-sister feel good quite like a nice, big breakfast.

Marley’s stomach grumbled, and she sighed. “That would be great… but I’m trying to lose weight, you know?” She said, looking mournfully down at her stomach.

“Ah, don’t worry about that!” Sylvia shook her head. “Daddy loves girls with a little bit of meat on their bones!”

Marley looked aghast, questioning how her own mother- her own sister- could actually imply that she was getting fat.

“Sylvia-!”

“What? There’s just more of you to love this way!” Sylvia replied innocently.

Argh. When she put it like that, Marley couldn’t even get mad. Dirty cheater.

…

Carly strolled through the hall without a care in the world, approaching the elevator. Then she reacted in surprise when she saw who was getting off.

“Oh! Dani!” She brightened, realizing who it was. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you for a second there, what, with, well…”

She gestured to the feathers sprouting from her tomboy lover.

Dani laughed. “Yeah, uh… I kind of startled myself this morning when I looked in the mirror,” she admitted. “I thought about plucking them, but, well… I kind of like the style, you know?”

It made her feel cool and exotic, like something out of a fantasy isekai anime. The siren girl, that’s what she was!

Carly nodded in approval. “Well, you’re definitely cute, looking all blue and feathery like this,” she joked, reaching up and caressing Dani’s cheek.

“Cut it out!” Dani giggled, playfully swatting Carly’s hand away. “That tickles!”

“Sorry,” Carly said, lowering her arm to her side. “I couldn’t help myself. Must be those siren charms of yours.”

“Ooh, really?” Dani wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Well, I’d love to make more use of them, but… I’ve got to get breakfast. Unless you’d like to join me?”

She blinked as she realized that something was off about his. Someone was missing. “…Wait, where’s Marley?” She asked, looking around for the twin who would always be tagging along with her girlfriend.

Carly gasped. “Oh man! Shit, I forgot… No, it’s fine.”

“What’s fine?” Dani questioned.

“Nothing. Sylvia’s there, it’s fine. I’m just gonna owe her something big later.”

Dani stared blankly at her girlfriend. There was definitely something she was missing, but decided not to pry.

Fortunately for Carly, remembering Marley made her remember why the twins had separated in the first place.

“Sorry, gonna have to call raincheck on breakfast,” Carly said, clasping her hands apologetically. “I already ate earlier, and, well… I wanted to go see if Nick wanted to hang out.” She hoped that didn’t come off as her choosing to spend time with him over her girlfriend.

Fortunately, Dani didn’t have a problem with that.

“Nah it’s fine, I wasn’t serious anyway,” she assured her girlfriend, shaking her head. “So you and Nick have a date?”

Carly laughed and scratched her head. “Not officially or anything, come on. But it is my night with him, so I thought it’d be nice to get to hang out for a little, just the two of us. Last time, Vivian’s beach party took up our day, so…”

Dani nodded. “Yeah, totally get it. Well, I hope you have fun!”

She waved to Carly as she headed off down the hall, going to get breakfast as Carly hopped into the elevator. She wasn’t sure what she and Nick would end up doing together, but she had a few exciting ideas.

When she arrived at the entryway to the Master’s Suite and saw Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin with her arm wrapped around Nick’s and her nails dug into his arm, those plans all went right out the window.

“Uh… good morning,” Nick said, surprised to see Carly standing in the elevator he’d been waiting for. He smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah… good morning,” Carly said back, giving him as friendly of a smile as she could manage in return.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin obviously said nothing at all. And she wasn’t smiling, either, as she narrowed her eyes into a glare.