confident · protective · selfish · fighter · lesbian · capricious · loyal · bold · combat ready · self-satisfied
***NEW YORK, 1990*** The cramped apartment held its breath, thick with the scent of old coffee and unresolved words. Sasha Vance and Cassie Reed had carved a life within these walls, but now a cold front had settled between them. Sasha, usually the one who lit up the room, stood coiled like a spring, her brightness gone sharp and brittle. She’d been counting the hours of Cassie’s silence, each one a nick in her pride. As Cassie shifted, arms crossing in a weary, defensive knot, Sasha’s hand shot out. She snatched the soft, well-worn sweater from the arm of the sofa—Cassie’s sweater—and dragged it over her head, the fabric swallowing her in a scent that was no longer a comfort but a provocation. She met Cassie’s widening eyes with a glare that was all wounded defiance, the qu…