cracked up to be

A series of drabbles. Multi-pairings, disconnected. / First: Tori and Cat hold hands and walk around. That's all, pretty much.

in the sun

tori/cat.

;

anywhere you are you know

the freedom there is dragging you down.

-raised by wolves, voxtrot

Tori likes Cat more than she should but it's probably because she's the most interesting person she's ever met. Caterina Valentine laughs at all of her jokes, the stupid ones, the ones that don't make any sense, even the ones that only Tori could understand. It's maybe the way Tori doesn't ever have to explain herself that makes Cat so easy to like. She doesn't have to apologize for being herself, the kind of person she is- how sometimes she just looks at the ground, hands in her pockets. When sometimes she doesn't want to talk, Cat doesn't try to make her, she just sits next to her and it's nice. Tori doesn't mind.

No one else makes her feel that way.

There's Andre, whose touch makes Tori feel like she's just come home, at ease, peaceful, and there's Beck who laughs with her and there's Robbie and Jade who say rude things but don't really mean them. With Cat it's different, completely. It's how they can walk together, wrists touching, without ever needing to say anything at all.

It's getting colder now, in Los Angeles. October weather, and the trees are a little darker in color. Tori's hood is pulled up, over her eyes, and she's watching her shoes leave faint prints on the sidewalk, all over, to show she's been there in the concrete.

"Tori," Cat says. Her voice is high and light, it's like summer- she presses her hand to Tori's shoulder to get her attention.

Cat maybe doesn't know it but she's the most gorgeous person Tori has ever seen. She's not the normal type of pretty, but she's tiny with fragile bones and the stem of her neck is slim and pale, her hair pulled up in a tangled mess. Tori thinks about touching it, reaching over, a lot of times, but she manages to keep stopping herself before she ruins it. What, she doesn't know, but she can't let Cat realize she's completely fixated on her face, her lips, and especially her hair, bright red where the sun falls on it.

It happens in a second, too fast for Tori to breathe- she's about to step out on the street when Cat pulls her back onto the sidewalk. Less than a second and a dark green SUV speeds by, honking loudly, and Cat yells something at it before turning back to Tori.

"Are you okay?" Cat asks. Her eyebrows are drawn together.

"Fine," Tori says, after a pause. "I-"

Tori isn't okay, actually. Far from it. Once, after school, Cat and her went to go get coffee and they spent two hours there, Tori shredding paper napkins with the tips of her fingers and Cat talking about everything and anything, their feet touching under the table. After a while they got kicked out for laughing too much and they'd wandered around outside because it was still light out and Tori had felt like a total freak for remembering this but Cat's shirt had slid up and her skin looked smooth over her hipbone. And she'd smiled up at Tori when they were at her house, nighty night, tori, see you tomorrow! and Tori had been still standing there, outside, five minutes later, feeling completely stupid and creepy with her mouth slightly parted and her heart weighted down in her chest.

No, she's not okay.

"Thanks," Tori says instead. She looks down and Cat's hand is still wrapped around hers.

Maybe it's the cold that makes Tori's thoughts so much more lonely than they usually are. The trees move above them and the light filters through and hits Cat so the color of her eyes, brown and liquid and big are too close, blinking up at her. It makes Tori's chest ache and she has to run to catch up with Cat when she starts yanking Tori after her.

Their hands are still touching when they reach a corner.

"Your hands are cold," Cat mentions, giggling a little. She's looking over her shoulder, eyelashes fluttering.

Tori doesn't know what to say. "I have bad circulation," She throws out, not knowing if Cat even understands that word.

Cat laughs. They should keep walking, Tori still has to memorise the lines for Sikowitz's newest insanity, but instead Cat leans over, up, one hand pressed against Tori's side and kisses her slowly on the mouth. It's over too soon. When Cat pulls away, her breath is warm and she licks her lips.

"You need to be more careful," Cat says, sadness tainting her words, then grinning. "Okay?"

Tori closes her eyes and opens them again. Cat is still there, close, her lower lip puckered out and looking like strawberries.

"Yeah." Tori says. "Won't happen again," and pulls at Cat's hand, taking her forward.

;

A/N: i have this personal canon that Tori's a lot more sad than she appears. Like, there's a bit of hipster in my Tori. In my head she kind of has some type of depression, not bad, but she has it. And in my head, she has some weird unrealised crush on Cat (while also being in love with Andre).

My canon is so strange.

Anyways, this is just going to be a series of drabbles! Because I write too many short things, and I don't want to clutter up ffnet with them, so a chapter fic with a billion different pairings and gen things seems a good way to put away my random stuff. :)

If you review, you should tell me what pairing you want next! I love taking requests and I have terrible writer's block occasionally. You can prompt me too! :) oh my gosh, prompt me! i'd be so excited.