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sirwaddlesesquire · 7 years

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Ch. 4 - Afternoon Business Meetings (Love is Not Time’s Fool, Part I)

For the third time, the intercom beeped. And for the third time, Pacifica Northwest glared at the infernal machine. She would have thought that after she had so thoroughly ignored its insistent tone, it would have taken the hint and just been silent. For it to have so blatantly disregarded her wishes was the height of unforgiveable error. It would know her displeasure. So she glared at it until it stopped. And then she glared at it a little more, just for good measure. She nodded curtly; satisfied she had sufficiently exerted her will upon the disobedient piece of technology.

Deep down, she knew that her line of reasoning was perhaps somewhat flawed. The intercom wasn’t actually responsible for the noise it created. It was really her secretary, hitting the button on the other end. And her glaring couldn’t have actually stopped the sound, because her secretary couldn’t see her glares. What’s more, unless there was insubordination in the ranks, they were just doing their job, attempting to give notice to whatever business-related thing required her attention now. Her secretary was probably freaking out that the intercom hadn’t been answered yet. Pacifica sighed. It wasn’t the secretary’s fault.

It was her fault. Her fault she was in a bad mood, her fault she was attempting to ignore her duties, and her fault that she was still effectively running away.

It had been a week since that disastrous date. She had ignored all attempts at contact from the others, and had made no attempts of her own. She had relived the evening in her mind a thousand times, just as she relived it again now. Everything had seemed to be going well. There was laughter, there was wine, there was music. And even if the music hadn’t been of conventional fare, it had still been pleasant. She had opened up somewhat and shared some of herself, which was normally something she took great care to avoid doing. And yet, her honesty had been met with enthusiasm and interest and acceptance, and she had been grateful for that. She had felt the tiny hints of romantic interest, stirring within her. She had felt the huge demands of desire, flaring within her. She had wanted to act on both.

But it had been them. Everywhere and everything that night had been them. Their cozy apartment, their easy comfort, their amusing stories. Their impassioned and ardent love making. It was them. And she was not. So she had fled.

The intercom beeped once more, and Pacifica sighed again. She couldn’t flee from everything. She pressed the button to allow her secretary to talk.

“Ms. Northwest. Your 1:00 appointment is here.”

“Very well, show them in.” She replied. “Who is it again?”

“She gave the name ‘Lady Mabelton’.”

Panic rose within her. There could be no mistaking who her 1:00 appointment truly was. Who else would use that name? Pacifica tried to hit the intercom to tell her secretary not to allow the appointment in. But through the glass doors of her office, she could see the secretary already making their way over, showing her appointment the way. The blonde glanced about the room, trying to decide if she could find a place to hide. Beneath the desk, maybe? But she knew she had already been seen. Perhaps she would just lock the door, and then ignore them until they went away.

All of her planning was for naught, because the secretary reached the office doors, opened one to allow the other person in, and then closed them again. Without so much of an invitation, the other person strode over and sat down in one of the chairs across the desk from Pacifica. There was nothing for it, and she met the eyes of her 1:00 appointment: Mabel Pines.

For a while, neither woman said anything. They just looked at each other. Mabel wore a conspiratorial grin, her gaze steady across the desk. Pacifica kept a neutral and blank stare on her face, unsure of what to do or what to make of this. What did the female Pines want? The room was tense, and Pacifica felt awkward. Finally, she had to break the silence.

“Lady Mabelton?” She asked, incredulous.

The brunette shrugged, still smiling. “Apparently you have to give a name to make an appointment. So I gave one. As far as names go, it’s a pretty good one, don’t you think?”

The young Northwest grimaced at the non-answer. “And you made an appointment why?”

“Why, to talk business, of course,” came the response. “I know all the business terms. Imagine-ize, shoulder pads, sticker-themed motivation …”

“Mabel,” Pacifca began, trying to keep her voice stern and commanding. “I really don’t have time for this. I have appointments all afternoon, actual important appointments.”

“Oh?” The female twin’s tone was casual as she began inspecting her nails. “Like with who?”

Pacifica pulled up her calendar on her computer. “Like, for example, at 2:00 I have, let’s see, Martha Pinefield… dammit Mabel!”

The only response was a smug grin from the other woman. The blonde continued to scroll through her schedule, reading her next three appointments out loud.

“3:00, Maple Conifer. 4:00, Estrella Fugaz. 5:00, Elizabeth Bennet?” She turned to Mabel. “Really!?”

“I’ve always wanted to be her, what can I say?” The brunette said loftily. “I can’t seem to convince Dipper to dress up as Lord Darcy, so when I saw the opportunity here, I took it.” She raised an eyebrow. “I can do the accent, if you would like…”

Pacifica dropped her head into her hand in exasperation. “No, I don’t need to hear the accent. How exactly did you manage to take over my entire afternoon schedule without anyone getting suspicious?”

“Paz, come on! I was trained in cons by the very best.” Mabel replied, her voice proud. “He’s got this new one, where, using a turkey baster, you … actually, I probably shouldn’t tell you about that. I think that would technically make you an accessory.”

The faux-innocent look on the brunette’s face only caused Pacifica to feel more irritation. The female twin’s appearance was a major distraction at work. True, maybe she hadn’t been putting in her best effort at work this past week anyway, but that was beside the point. During the week, she had just been distracted by Mabel’s presence in her thoughts. Now she was being distracted by Mabel’s presence in her office. Pacifica tried her best to convince herself that there was a significant difference. She wasn’t sure if she was succeeding or not.

She took a deep breath. “Alright, so you are all of my meetings this afternoon. The rest of my day is completely blocked off by you. Essentially, my work load is now… you.” The other woman perked up. “Well then, it appears that I don’t have anything else to do today. Guess I’ll be taking off early and leaving now.”

Pacifica began to hurriedly bustle about in her effort to leave, all the while carefully avoiding looking in the other woman’s direction. Leaving so early may not be the best business practice, but the excuse would allow her to escape this uncomfortable and unwanted meeting. She packed some of her things into her attaché, closed out of her computer, and switched her phone to voicemail. In a matter of moments, she would be out the door and down the road, and then she could continue to not have to deal with all of this. It was just as she was beginning to stand up when Mabel spoke.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The female Pines’ tone was flat and heavy.

Her question and the emotion behind it made Pacifica freeze. Her first thought was that she did not want to talk about it. What exactly was there to talk about?

But something was preventing her from just walking out. It may have been the hint of distress behind Mabel’s eyes. It was possible that she was growing sick of running. But ultimately, it seemed the largest factor was a voice inside her compelling her to stop. Now that the subject was out there, maybe she finally felt like talking and confronting this was a course she wanted to take. She sat back down and, after a few moments trying to delay it, met Mabel’s eyes.

“Alright, Mabel.” Pacifica stated seriously. “Let’s talk about it.”

Mabel’s eyes lit up as she straightened in her seat. She opened her mouth to speak.

Pacifica’s raised voice and angry words cut her off. “Let’s talk about what exactly the hell the two of you were thinking, pulling a stunt like that! You invite me into your home, supposedly for a nice little date night, and instead, it’s the damn ‘Pines Twin Show’! You parade me around, showing off everything that makes your relationship and your lives so great and flawless. Demonstrating how you two are this perfect center of a whirlwind of happiness and comfort!”

She took a certain pleasure in watching the other woman recoil, her face falling, clearly caught off guard by the sudden ire and harsh words. So she continued, starting now to yell.

“And don’t even get me started on the harlequin romance novel level of sex that I had to watch. The moaning and the writhing and caressing. Not to mention the ‘I love yous’. Christ was that ever a performance!”

“You asked us to watch…?” Mabel’s words were hesitant and questioning. “We only did that because you said you needed to see the two of us together…”

“Please.” Pacifica responded, letting an edge of scorn appear in her voice. “You probably couldn’t wait for that chance. An opportunity for it to just be the two of you, to exclude me. To demonstrate just how immensely in love you are, and how superior it is to everything else. Just one more example of the Pines twins against the world.”

“So that’s what this is about?!” Mabel’s voice was sharp, her volume matching Pacifica’s own. “You think we purposely slighted you or tried to humiliate you? You saw a single situation that you weren’t directly involved in, and it’s automatically some great insult to you and your status?!” She spat the last word out as if it were a curse.

“And so you want to turn this into a ‘me versus them’ thing?” The brunette continued icily. “That’s your answer to this self-created affront? You’re just going to ignore all that stuff that came before that moment. How can you do that? More importantly, why?! Why would you do that?”

It was Pacifica’s turn to be caught off guard. She did not expect the other woman to be capable of anger or argument. She had only ever known Mabel to be bubbly and cheerful. Yet here she was, matching the young Northwest word for word and fury for fury. Her hands clenched into fists in her skirt, her chin raised, and her eyes meeting Pacifica’s own in a glare. Mabel looked like … Mabel looked like Pacifica when she was angry. Like she looked now, no doubt.

The sudden realization of seeing herself mirrored in the other woman shocked her. All of the fire within her dissipated in a moment. There simply was no longer any anger to sustain it. Instead, she only felt exhaustion, fear, and a little sadness inside of her. Pacifica leaned back in her chair, letting the sudden weariness course through her, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. She sighed before taking a deep breath.

“Alright Mabel.” She said, opening her eyes and staring across the desk. “What do you want from me?”

“The truth.” Mabel replied, her tone even. There was a hint of pleading in it. The other woman had also leaned back into her chair, though she held herself straight and still. She had unclenched her fists, resting her hands on her lap instead. Her chin no longer pointed up, but there remained a sense of determination to the way she held her head up. Her gaze was steely. “I want the truth of what happened that night. Of why you ran away. And of why it seems like you are still running away.”

Hearing the very thoughts she had been thinking earlier now being spoken aloud caused something to twist inside of Pacifica. And she knew she couldn’t deny Mabel the truth. So she began to speak, the words tumbling out one after another.

“The truth is that I was scared. That I’m still scared.” She stated, sorrow in her voice. “You can’t understand what it was like, to see the two of you together like that. Everywhere I looked in your apartment, it was you two! All the pictures, your different styles in each room complimenting each other, and that adorable bedroom that was clearly perfect for both of you. With each new example, I felt like an intruder.”

The blonde shook her head a little, remembering the evening, before continuing her explanation. “The whole night, you were touching and kissing, and being so amazingly sweet. And it was natural! There was no effort behind it. You just… you match each other so well. I felt like an intruder there as well.”

The other woman tried to say something, but Pacifica held up a hand to forestall her. “And then, to see all of that reflected so perfectly in your love making. I mean, I wasn’t kidding when I called it like a romance novel. You read the frilly and sentimental descriptions in those books, and you assume it’s just some exaggeration. Because nothing in your life has ever been like that, so it can’t be real, right?” She frowned down at the desk at the deluge of sentiment.

“But suddenly, you get to see it. Sex and romance and love exactly fitting those descriptions. It’s happening right in front of you. There’s no mistaking exactly what it is. And it doesn’t include you. You’re just the observer, someone on the outside looking in.” She laughed bitterly. “You might as well be reading the damn books.”

She lapsed into silence. The room was quiet as both women appeared to be sorting through their thoughts and feelings. Pacifica was surprised at the depth of what she had just shared, and how it had all seemed to come out in a rush. Normally she wasn’t the sharing type. There was too much risk involved with the practice. But now that it was out there, she had to admit that she felt better.

“Well frick.” Mabel’s muttered faux-curse broke the silence. “It seems I owe Dip five bucks.” Pacifica looked at her in confusion. The brunette shrugged apologetically. “What you just said, your explanation? That was his theory on what happened.”

“And you bet on it?” She asked incredulously. The other woman nodded slightly and gave a shy glance. Pacifica blinked, and then started chuckling ruefully. It seemed like such a Mabel thing to do; to make a wager on an existential crises and only feel slightly remorseful about it after copping to the act. The whole thing seemed in such poor taste that laughter was really the only answer. After a second, Mabel joined in, laughing along with Pacifica. The two shared in the oddity of the moment, enjoying the reprieve from the tension and the awkwardness.

“How do you do it, Mabel?” Her question came as the laughter began to die down. “How do you roll with these crazy things and just go for it? You seem so confident about the whole thing, like it doesn’t even faze you. I’ve spent so many sleepless nights thinking and worrying about all of this, and you haven’t even blinked an eye.”

“No, you’re wrong about that.” Mabel shook her head, her expression turning somber. “I’m terrified. Like, constantly terrified.”

Pacifica frowned in disbelief. Never once throughout this whole experience had she imagined the female Pines to be terrified. She had been thoughtful and pensive at times, sure. But mostly she had been eager and gleeful, and had carried herself with a sense of self-assurance that was at times almost disarming. To hear her now speak of being scared was a surprise.

“Look, I’m really sorry about what happened Pacifica.” Mabel continued. “We honestly had no idea we were acting like that, or what it looked like to you. It was not our intent to purposely exclude you. I can try and explain a little, if you’d like?” Pacifica murmured her agreement, and the twin took on a thoughtful look.

“It’s a weird thing, to meet your other half so early in life,” she said. She glanced up in a look of concern. “I don’t say this to try and throw it in your face, but I think I need to include it to explain a little. Hopefully it helps. Like I said, it’s definitely a weird thing. But it’s even weirder when that other half is your twin brother.”

The twin’s eyes became far-away. “Those were some sleepless nights spent in worry, I’ll tell you what. And I won’t bore you with a bunch of sappy details, but you better believe it was a strange and crazy time in both of our lives. I was terrified then too. Scared of my feelings, scared of Dip’s feelings, scared of the future. And especially scared of what it all meant. I tried so hard to find a reason for all that was going on.

“In some ways, it’s the same thing here. You’re right, it has been the two of us against the world, for a long time now. It seems kind of crazy to invite someone else in to that, to try and extend that two-person circle to three. I feel a lot of the same fear now as I did then. Some of the same feelings as well. I’ve been trying to find a reason for doing this. And I’m pretty sure I found one. In fact, it’s the same one I found all those years ago with Dipper. You know what it is?”

The blonde shook her head, captivated by Mabel’s monologue and unwilling to speak, least she interrupt it.

The brunette gave her a meaningful look. “I decided that I didn’t think there was a reason. And more importantly, that I didn’t think there needed to be one.”

Pacifica was stunned by the words. “How can that be?” Her surprise evident in her question. “How can you be comfortable with that? Just … how?”

“I’m not sure I’m still one hundred percent comfortable,” was the reply. “There’s still a lot left in front of us. But it’s pretty hard to argue with the results. As for how, let me ask you a question. And don’t think, just answer! Why did you ask to be part of our secret?”

“Because there was a little something inside of me that did a flip whenever I saw either of you or the two of you together. Because that little something made me want to.” Her answer was blurted, out of her mouth before she could even register it. She felt her eyebrows shoot up in shock. “Because I wanted to.” She whispered to herself. Mabel made a ‘there-you-go’ motion with her hand.

“But is it enough? Can that really be it?” Pacifica asked.

“I can’t answer that for you.” The twin responded. “It was for me. Years later, and I am still so happy I took the leap, even if the basis was only because I wanted to. But you are going to have to decide for yourself. Is wanting it enough of a reason for you to go for it, Paz?”

The blonde frowned, thinking about the question. Was it enough? She wasn’t sure. “Are you happy you took the leap with me?” She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice.

“Yes,” Mabel replied. “Even if it resulted in me and Dip being naked in front of an open front door for the entire world to see, I am happy that we tried. You know, I’d be even happier if we kept trying.”

“Aren’t you scared something could happen?” The possibilities seemed endless to Pacifica. All of them seemed worthy of concern. “To us? Or to you and Dipper?”

“A little, yeah.” Mabel smiled. “I mean, I hope you don’t take offense, but I’m not super worried about me and Dip. Something tells me we’re pretty solid. But yes, it seems like anything could happen between the three of us. Obviously I can’t make any guarantees, but I think it could be something good. I’m willing to try for that.”

The room again lapsed into silence as Pacifica reflected on Mabel’s words. The female twin was right in many ways. The prospects were still terrifying, for a number of reasons. Part of it was normal relationship stuff. Another part was the unconventional nature of a multiple-person relationship. But perhaps the biggest source of fear was the complete lack of concrete, external reasoning. Instead, it would be based on stomach flips and essentially asking the question ‘why not’.

“Why did you invite me to join you two?” It was a slight change in subject, but Pacifica wanted to know. “That night in the guest bedroom? Or was that just a random event with no reason as well?”

Mabel chuckled a little. “Paz, I can honestly say that that wasn’t random. At least, not completely random. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep the reason secret for you. I promise that you will know in time.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but something about the way the other woman’s eyebrow raised in challenge told her she wouldn’t get far. A discussion for another time then.

“If we were to hypothetically keep going with this, how would we go about it?” She asked instead.

“Dip and I did some … talking,” Mabel said, a slight flush appearing on her cheeks. “And since he was correct about why you ran, it seems like his plan is the one to go with. Again, I’m sorry that seeing us together was difficult, and I can understand why that was. While the reality is that we’re kind of a packaged deal, it’s probably really intimidating to try and date us both at once.”

“You can say that again.” Pacifica’s tone was wry.

The other woman gave a smile of acknowledgement. “So, we think maybe for the time being, you can date both of us separately. Go on dates with just one of us, and get to know us individually. And we can both get to know you as well!”

The blonde thought about that for a moment. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. That could work…” She tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully before something occurred to her. “But what happens if I end up liking one of you more than the other?”

“Honestly, then I think things would come to an end.” Mabel said seriously, her voice a little sad. “At the end of the day, Paz, my and Dipper’s relationship isn’t going anywhere, and we aren’t going to allow someone to come between us. Nothing is going to change that.” She held up her hands. “But we’re not opposed to someone joining us. It seems like something we’d have to deal with if it came up. However, I think that if you find you like either one of us separately, you’re going to like us even better together.”

Pacifica thought for a moment. Mabel’s answer had been fair. Truthfully, in the back of her mind, she suspected she didn’t want just one of the Pines twins anyway. Something told her she wanted them together. But as the female twin had said, that was something to deal with if it came up. For now, the option to date the twins individually seemed like a promising one. It certainly would remove the primary source of intimidation and anxiety she had been feeling. Besides, why not?

And just like that, she realized that she had made up her mind.

“So, just like that?” She asked the female Pines. “We’re going to shrug out shoulders, say ‘why not’, and follow that little thing inside out stomach that says go for it?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” was the response.

“Alright Mabel.” Pacifica shrugged in a pointed fashion. “Why not? I’m in.”

Mabel’s instantaneous grin was huge and lit up the room. “Yay!” She exclaimed, then coughed and put on a more serious face. “I mean, yeah, that’s cool or whatever.”

The blonde was unable to keep a smile from her face either. “So, when shall we have our first date, just us girls? Or are we still calling them ‘romantic excursions’?”

“Well, it’s now 2:00. Which means your appointment with Martha Pinefield is starting…” Mabel wiggled her eyebrows. “How about you and Ms. Pinefield sneak out of here and you let her buy you a milkshake?”

Pacifica laughed. “Now that sounds like my kind of business meeting. Come on, I’ll show you the back way out.”

Both woman stood up and began making their way out, walking side by side. She glanced over and noticed Mabel smirking at her. “What is that look for?” She asked.

“Well, you know,” the female twin responded airily. “If you really wanted romance novel style sexy times, we can always make Dipper narrate to you. He can tell you about his ‘throbbing manhood’ and compliment you on your ‘quivering bosom’!”

The blonde began to giggle. “We can finally get him in breeches and find him a morning coat so he can be Mr. Darcy for you!” She gave the other woman a playful shove.

“Yes yes!” Mabel cried out, joining in on the giggling and gently shoving her back. “Can you imagine?”

“Of course I can’t!” Pacifica exclaimed. “I’m still trying to imagine how he reacted to being naked with the door open.” The two continued to nudge each other back and forth.

“Oh, oh, it was hilarious. So there we were…”

And this time, when Mabel jabbed an elbow, Pacifica caught it and tucked into her own, the two continuing their walk out into the afternoon sun.

#pinecest #pinescifica #love is not time's fool #wild nights #afternoon business meetings

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