//------------------------------// // LBS: Forgiveness Beats Fights // Story: Love Beats Stupid // by chillbook1 //------------------------------// Sonata whistled as she went about the apartment, dumping various bits of trash and debris into her large black garbage bag. The place was quiet on account of Aria and Adagio going out for groceries, leaving the apartment to Sonata. Instead of wasting this time laying around, or watching TV, Sonata saw fit to clean the place up a tad. She was certain that Adagio would appreciate it, and Sonata thought she owed her good friend a break after all she put up with. And so, Sonata did something she wasn’t known for: tidying up. The place never got too messy, Adagio never allowed it, but there was always some things laying about that ought to be in the trash. A bag of chips here or a soda can there. It was a bit boring at first, but, once Sonata developed a rhythm, she found herself enjoying it. It was kinda soothing. Cathartic, even. So, when the living room and kitchen were cleaned, Sonata decided to move her attention upstairs. Entering Adagio’s room without prior approval would be a death sentence, so Sonata decided she’d have to settle for cleaning her own bedroom. Aria was a fairly neat person by her nature, so most of the mess was actually Sonata’s to clean in the first place. When she was done collected her various junk wrappers and bottles, she turned her attention to the only bit of mess that could potentially be considered Aria’s. Sonata opened the closet, the little compartment all but overflowing with a torrent of clothes. Due to them, for the most part, wearing the same size of clothes, a lot of Sonata’s articles made their way into Aria’s closet, and vice versa. Sonata didn’t mind at all, instead refolding and rehanging the mess of shirts, pants, and the very rare skirt and dress into something that resembled order. It took Sonata just a few minutes to get that squared away, at which point she noticed a small shoe box in the corner. Curiously, she grabbed the box and carried it to the bed she shared with Aria, where she opened it to reveal its contents. Sonata wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was very surprised to see a book. An old, torn, stained, tattered notebook, the letters on the cover barely legible due to age and mistreatment. Sonata lifted it up and flipped it open, her curiosity mounting as she turned the dirty, dingy, yellowing pages. The words were hard to make out, the ink smudged and messy over the years. It didn’t even seem to be English on first glance, though Sonata could only speculate the nature of it. She thought it might’ve been Spanish. Sonata shrugged, tossing the book into the box and carrying it with her as she moved the trash to the front door. She decided she’d ask Aria about it when she got back and, if it was junk like Sonata thought, she’d toss it out. But, for now, her jobs was done, and all she had left to do was wait for the others to return. Aria sighed, pushing open the door with her arms full of grocery bags with Adagio hot on her heels. Unsurprisingly, Adagio had made Aria carry all the heavy things, leaving just a few light items for herself to hold. Aria tried not to let it bother her. She hadn’t seen her girlfriend all day, and she was ready to rest and relax with her lovely woman. “Sony!” Aria trudged through their home, headed for the kitchen. “We’re home! Freaking finally…” “Ooh! Did you get my banana bread?!” Sonata could be heard running down the stairs, eventually bounding into the kitchen with an excited grin. Aria rolled her eyes, but dug into a bag and withdrew a package containing a big slice of banana bread. Sonata grabbed it up and went to town on the packaging to get to her sweet, delicious treat. “Thanks, baby!” “Heh. Don’t mention it. Sorry we took so long. Big head over here dragged me to like three different stores to find her special ice cream,” said Aria. She dropped the rest of her bags down and fell into a chair at the table. “She just couldn’t eat strawberry like the rest of us…” “I’m so sorry that my lactose intolerance and deathly allergy to strawberry was such an inconvenience to you, Aria,” said Adagio flatly. “Please, forgive me for existing and wanting to participate in sundae night with you and the moron. I assure you, this will be the last time I try to involve myself in your lives.” “Well, if you’re sorry, I guess I won’t hold it against you.” Aria smirked at Adagio’s annoyed grumbling, then went about putting the groceries away. “So, what’ve you been up to?” “Not much,” said Sonata in between mouthfuls of banana bread. “Cleaned up the apartment a bit. Oh, that reminds me. I was cleaning out your closet and I found this really old book written in Spanish or something. It looked old, so I was gonna toss it out, but—” There was a thud as a gallon of milk slipped from out of Aria’s hands, the top popping off as the jug hit the floor. As milk spilled onto the ground, Aria quickly turned, staring at Sonata with fire in her eyes. “Damn it, Aria!” swore Adagio. “I suppose you expect me to clean this up?” “What did you do with it?” demanded Aria. Sonata didn’t answer immediately, shocked by her girlfriend’s sudden shift in demeanor. “The book, Sonata. Where’s the book?” “I-I put it out front when was cleaning up,” said Sonata. “Is everything o—” Aria didn’t let Sonata finish her sentence before she bounded out of the room, heading for the door. Adagio and Sonata shared a look of concern before following Aria through the hall and to the living room. Sonata felt herself grow increasingly nervous as she realized that the bag of trash, and the book that had been sitting next to it, was no longer there. “Where? Where is it?” asked Aria, running her hands through her hair. She paced the living room, searching for somewhere the book could’ve fallen under. “Where?!” “Oh no… Babe, I think I might’ve tossed it out with the rest of the trash,” said Sonata cautiously. “I must’ve not been thinking about it, I’m—” “Not thinking? Yeah, no kidding! What the hell were you doing in my stuff, anyway?!” Aria huffed angrily at Sonata, anger splayed on her features the likes of which Sonata had never seen before. “That’s my stuff! Why would you just toss it out?! Oh, no, trash came, too… Damn it!” “I… I didn’t know it was important,” said Sonata. “I thought it was just an old piece of junk…” “God, you’ve done some stupid stuff over the years, but this has to be your most brainless move by far! Damn it!” Aria’s face was glowing red by this point, and she looked as if she was nearing tears. “Idiot! I can’t freaking believe you!” “Aria, calm down,” said Adagio, deciding now was time to intervene. “Relax. It was an accident. We’re used to dealing with the results of boneheaded mistakes. Sonata clearly didn’t mean for the book to get thrown out, so stop jumping at her throat. You need to control your anger. It’s just a book.” “Of course you’d take her side!” Aria’s fists were clenched, as if she was ready to punch someone. “Goddamnit, I hate it when you do this! You don’t even know why I’m mad and you just assume I’m being a dramatic little brat!” “Aria. Stop.” Adagio stepped to Aria, standing between here and Sonata. “Use your words. Why do you care so much about this book, anyway? I'm not even entirely convinced you know how to read.” “You know what?” Adagio geared herself up for an explosion, as Aria was known for, but it never came. It was an odd moment of dead quiet where Aria seemed to grapple with herself. Adagio had never seen her friend like this before. When Aria got mad, she let it be known. “Whatever. Forget it.” “W-what?” Adagio stepped forward, reaching for Aria’s arm. Unsurprisingly, Aria shrugged free, walking past Adagio as if she wasn’t even there. “That’s it? This is the part where we shout at each other.” “Whatever.” Aria made her way to the door, barely looking at Sonata as she put on her jacket. “I’ll be back.” “Where are you going?” asked Sonata, tears welling up in her eyes. “Out.” Aria didn’t bother waiting for a response. She just stepped out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Sonata turned to Adagio, clearly trying her hardest not to cry. Adagio wasn’t the best for emotional support, but she could tell that Sonata needed a hug. So, even though it felt unnatural, Adagio wrapped her arms around Sonata, bringing her close into a warm embrace. “She was really mad…” said Sonata quietly. Adagio nodded, patting Sonata’s head awkwardly. “She’s always mad,” remarked Adagio. “Never at me though…” “Well, Sonata, whatever that book was, it was clearly important.” Adagio broke the hug, holding Sonata at arm’s length. She gave her friend, her sister, a look over, measuring her next words carefully. “And I truly don’t want to victim-blame, but… What on Earth were you thinking, throwing it out?” “I… I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking,” said Sonata. “It wasn’t like a comic book or anything. It was just some old book written in Spanish! Aria doesn’t even know Spanish.” Sonata paused to muse for a moment. “Wait… Does she?” “I have no clue, Sonata, but the book obviously meant a lot to her. And while I don’t agree with how she shouted at you, I can’t say I blame her for her anger,” said Adagio. She pursed her lips, wondering what to do about Aria. Odds are, she would be heading to the comic shop, but if not, Adagio had no clue where to look. Even still, going straight after Aria would be a mistake. “I’ve never seen her that mad…” said Sonata. “I feel awful.” “Well, there’s nothing to be done about it now,” sighed Adagio. “All we can do is wait for her to cool off. You know how she gets sometimes. Best to leave her be and let her come around on her own.” Sonata knew that Adagio was right. She was almost always right. There was nothing either of them could do besides give Aria her space. Sonata knew that. Even though she had messed up, and she had hurt the person she loved most, she knew that there was nothing she could do to fix it. “Screw that noise,” said Sonata, gripped with a sudden, almost magical confidence. “Dagi, gimme your keys.” “Uh… What?” “Give me your car keys. I’m borrowing your car.” Sonata extended her arm, gesturing for Adagio’s keys. Slowly, carefully, Adagio retrieved them from her pocket and deposited them in Sonata’s hand. “What do you plan to do?” asked Adagio, although she almost didn’t want to know. “I’m gonna fix this,” said Sonata boldly. And, just like that, her mind was made up. She didn’t care that the task in question was monumental, bordering on impossible. She didn’t care that it was dirty and gross. All Sonata cared about was her mistake, how she could fix it, and how she could make things up to her love. Sonata strode out of the apartment with purpose, determined to set things right. Aria snorted angrily as she pushed open the door to the apartment. She had made it her business to wait as long as she could before returning home, until she was certain that the others had gone to sleep, both for her benefit and for Sonata’s own good. Aria, obviously, didn’t want to be mad at Sonata. She loved her, and she wanted nothing more than for the two to be happy together. Aria just wanted to forget this whole thing and have her sundae night with her girlfriend. But she couldn’t. Not now. Aria could feel her blood boil just thinking about how careless Sonata had been. It didn’t matter to Aria that it was an accident, or that Sonata was clearly very sorry about the whole thing. All Aria could think about was the book, how she would never see it again. How she would never get to read that beautiful, looping handwriting ever again. Aria squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away as she made her way for her bedroom. She moved silently, not wishing to alert the house of her presence, but she couldn’t help but let out an annoyed groan when she arrived at her room. It was deserted, with Sonata nowhere to be found. Aria rolled her eyes, kicking off her boots. Sonata was probably out with Pinkie Pie or something. “Fine by me,” grumbled Aria. She didn’t want to talk to Sonata at the moment anyway. Aria wasn’t sure when she would want to see her girlfriend, but it definitely wouldn’t be any time soon. Now was the time for sulking, for stewing in her own anger. Aria approached her bed, pausing a few feet away. This was the bed she shared with Sonata. Aria’s original bed, from before they were dating, was still there, acting as a sort of back-up laundry basket. It was piled with dirty clothes, making it difficult to sleep on if either ever wanted to. They never did, of course. The night hours were supposed to be for the two of them to spend with one another, wrapped in each other’s arms. Their nightly “snuggle sesh”, Sonata called them. After a long, tiring day of school and life in general, Sonata always looked forward to this alone time. Aria turned and made her way for the other bed, the one piled high with laundry. If Sonata wasn’t going to respect Aria’s property, then Aria saw no reason why she should be expected to respect their alone time. Aria shed her clothes and clambered over the pile of dirty clothes and curled up, closing her eyes and waiting for sleep to claim her. Sleep was something that often eluded Aria. She blamed it on her natural Siren biology, their brains not needing or desiring sleep like humans do (though, for whatever reason, her fellows seemed to have grown out of this). On a good day, Aria normally slept very little, instead opting to spend the time in bed just to hold Sonata. This was not a good day by any stretch of the imagination, so perhaps it was foolish to think that sleep was a possibility. It was gone. The book was gone. Aria needed to accept that. She tried to shake the thoughts of it, of the elegant cursive and the faded black ink. The ink from the pen that Aria had given her. A lot of her past was lost to time, the memories blurred and faded, but Aria remembered that pen. Remembered the exact moment she gave it to her. Aria shook herself free of these memories, letting them flow past her like a wave. It was gone. It didn't matter anymore. Aria wasn't even certain why she cared so much. The book was so old, and she couldn't even recall the last time she actually read it. Besides, she wasn't exactly known for sentimentality. Maybe it wasn't altogether Sonata’s fault that it got tossed out. Again, Aria gave herself a firm shake. Whether she was normally sentimental or not didn't matter. What mattered was that Sonata had gone through her things, violated Aria’s privacy, and thrown out something important because she was careless, thoughtless, irresponsible. Aria wasn't about to just give her a free pass on that, no matter how much she wanted to forgive her. The door creaked open, the sound of footsteps soon following. Aria tried to feign sleep, hoping that Sonata would choose the empty bed. It was quiet for a moment before Aria felt a weight deposit itself onto her bed. She said nothing, made no movement, even as Sonata rolled over the mountain of dirty clothes to embrace Aria from behind. “I'm sorry,” whispered Sonata, her soft, gentle voice slithering up Aria’s neck. She could feel the regret in those two short words, but it wasn't enough for her. “Where have you been?” asked Aria curtly. Her nose twitched, wrinkling slightly. “And why the hell do you stink so bad? You smell like hobo.” “Sorry. I was at the dump. Tried to find your book, but I couldn't.” It was quiet for a bit as Aria absorbed that. “Sorry about the smell. I probably should've showered first…” She tried to get up, stopping when Aria gently grabbed her hand. “Stay.” It was all Aria could muster at the moment. As angry as she was with Sonata, she also didn't want to be left alone all night. “Okie.” Another silent spell rose over the two, neither knowing quite what to say to the other. “You must hate me, huh?” “No.” “Oh. So, uh… Hm. I really thought you'd still be mad…” “I'm pissed. Doesn't mean I hate you,” grunted Aria. “I could never hate you. But what you did really hurt. So I'm still freaking pissed off.” “What was in that book, anyway?” asked Sonata. She was met only with silence. “Where'd you get it? Why was it so important?” Again, no response. “Who wrote it?” “It doesn't matter!” Aria clenched her jaw, trying not to shout anymore. Sonata couldn't see her face, but she could feel the way Aria tensed up. How hard she was trying to keep her temper in check. “It doesn't matter. It's gone now, cause of you.” Aria let out the breath she'd been holding in. “But, you know… I still love you. Even when you piss me the hell off. This stupid book isn't worth losing you over. Nothing is.” “Ari… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.” Sonata squeezed Aria’s hand gently, then placed a soft kiss on the back of her neck. “It was an accident. I’m so sorry.” “I know,” sighed Aria. “I know you didn’t mean it.” As angry as she was, Aria knew it was pointless to hold it against Sonata. And, considering that Sonata had spent the last few hours digging through the trash, Aria had to believe that she’d been punished enough. “Just… God, it’s gone. Forever.” “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me what was in the book, but I’m sorry it’s gone,” said Sonata. “If there’s anyway I could make it up to you, just let me know. Okay?” Again, she was met with silence, which made Sonata sigh in defeat. She pushed herself to an upright sitting position, glancing at the other bed across the room. “I’m gonna go give you your space. See you in the morning?” Aria muttered something that Sonata couldn’t quite catch. Sonata waited, hoping for more, but received nothing. With another sigh, she stood up and took a single step before Aria’s voice cut through the silence. “Maria.” Sonata could feel the pain and regret dripping from that single word. Aria spoke slowly, taking her time to compose herself. “Her name was Maria. The girl who wrote the book.” “Oh. I see. And… She was a friend?” asked Sonata, proceeding cautiously. “Yeah. A friend. She taught me to paint,” sighed Aria, sitting up to face away from Sonata. “The book were tips from her. Notes on my work. How to get better. What sort of things to paint. Messages.” “What kind of messages?” Aria didn’t respond, which was about what Sonata expected. “You want to talk about her?” “No. I don’t.” Aria let out a sigh, running her hands through her hair. “I lied. She wasn’t a friend. She was… More.” Aria felt Sonata’s arms wrap around her, felt her head rest gently on her shoulder. For the first time that night, Aria saw her girlfriend’s face. Dirty, muddy, covered in grease and grime from searching so long. Her eyes shined with tears, regret for her failure. Aria herself had tears in her eyes, despite how she tried to fight them back. “It’s okay, babe. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” said Sonata. She kissed Aria on the cheek. “You can keep her to yourself if you want. But, for what it’s worth… I’m glad you met her. She seemed to have been good for you. And I’m glad you learned something you love from her.” Sonata broke away again, this time actually managing to make it to the bathroom without being stopped. She stripped down and hopped in the shower, wondering if Aria would ever truly forgive her. This was unprecedented. Sonata had never so severely hurt Aria, and she couldn’t think how she could ever make it up to her. It was good that Aria had started talking, even if she didn’t say a whole lot. Sonata was proud of her. Even though she didn’t know the full extent of Aria’s relationship with this Maria character, it was obvious that memories of her were painful. It didn’t take much detective work for Sonata to work out a few possibilities of what happened between the two. Sonata finished her shower, thoroughly exhausted, both physically and emotional. These were the sorts of days that she needed her snuggle sesh, but she knew that she had to give Aria her space. So she dragged herself across the room, laying herself down onto the empty bed. After a few moments, it became clear that Sonata wouldn’t be able to sleep. Not like this. She was about to get up to take a trip to the kitchen when she felt a weight lower itself behind her. She turned, surprised, to see Aria, who silently leaned forward and kissed her. Sonata smiled, until Aria reached forward and flicked her on the nose. “It’s okay,” said Aria quietly. “I don’t need her if I have you.” Aria wrapped her arms around Sonata, holding her tight in a warm, loving embrace. Sonata laughed quietly, snuggling up close to Aria, and a calm, peaceful sleep soon claimed them both.