Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ellis wasn't an overly generous lover, but neither was she restrained. She put her all into loving Felicity, would spend every spare moment on her, but she was exacting. To keep her love Felicity had to meet a high standard and maintain it.

The longer they were together, the easier it was to give Ellis the reins on the simple things.

Ellis would never love her if she lost her academic mind, if she lost her twister anger. Ellis could not love an empty doll, preferred her toys mad and delusional. But Felicity grew tired of upholding her reputation and Ellis... Ellis loved to see Felicity remade in her image.

They look in the mirror together, Ellis's slightly taller frame locking eyes with Felicity over her shoulder. She uses one elegant hand to brush delicate blond hair over her shoulder and leans in to murmur in Felicity's ear.

"See?" she says, that hint of a smile gracing her red painted lips. "I told you it would look better this way."

Felicity hadn't ever cared for fashion the way that some girls did. She wanted to be beautiful, but unassuming. The standard Dalloway girls uniform of mid-20th century vintage mixed modern 'academic' look had suited her just fine anyway, why try for something specific? But Ellis is always specific.

Her newest novel is set in the 1930s. Felicity is sure at one point she knew the exact year, but thinking about Ellis and her novels always made her head hurt, made her remember... so the details had gotten fuzzy. Like with her other novels, Ellis insists on living the lives of her characters as much as she can - and now that includes Felicity. She knows the other girl simply sees a girlfriend as an extension of herself, rather than a partner.

In many ways she's right, anyway. The lines that delineated the separation of Ellis and Felicity had started to blur years ago, that fateful autumn in Godwin House. Ellis dressing the both of them to fit her newest novel is hardly the worst boundary she's ever crossed, even if it does make Felicity feel more like a doll than usual.

To Ellis's credit, the look did fit her. Her long hair had been pinned at the sides, her signature neutral lipstick unchanged, but the clothes were new. Felicity is certain they're true vintage - it isn't like Ellis to do things halfway. The dress sits slightly lower than she expects it too, but the long lines and subtle cinching make Felicity's body look adult in a way that reaching her 18th birthday hadn't been able to achieve. Her eyes are still off-puttingly round, her body more bony than lithe, but the dress almost seems made for her.

Of course, Ellis hasn't given up her suits, simply changed the cut of them. Seeing them together brings to mind black and white photos of elicit mid-century lesbian bars, but with her red lips and carefully tousled shoulder length hair, Ellis would never be mistaken for butch.

They look frozen in time.

"You're right. We look like a set like this," Felicity says.

This of course causes Ellis to smirk. There's nothing she likes more than a visible claim over Felicity and vice-versa. If she had her way they'd be tied at the wrist so no one would ever mistake them as separate again.

Cool, red lips press gently to the high point of Felicity's cheekbone, but rather than kissing her and leaning away, Ellis whispers against her skin, "Like we were made for each other."

Their eyes lock in the mirror again.

"Like we were made for each other," Felicity agrees.