Work Text:
Pixie Hollow High was a school known for its wide, colourful and varied array of club activities for its students. It had its own student council club, a drama club, a gardening club, an animal rescue club, a track club, robotics club, synchronized swimming club, figure skating club, and so much more. Headmistress Clarion believed that every student possessed a specific talent; and believed it important all students receive ample opportunity to engage, enjoy and hone their talents. Vice Principal Milori shared in this sentiment—and he shared in more than that with the headmistress, even though it was supposed to be a secret.
It was a poorly kept secret, as students could tell just by the glances the headmistress and vice principal gave one another.
Teachers helped out with clubs when need be, but for the most part, students were in charge of their own management.
While it was a lot of responsibility, it also gave students the trust and freedom they deserved.
...but, sometimes, that wasn't always a good thing.
Tinkerbell and Vidia were proof of that.
———
In the Robotics Club workshop, Tinkerbell was doing what she did best—tinkering.
"And...!" she leaned back with a grin, pushing back a strand of blond hair that'd fallen in her face. "Done!” she announced, setting down her wrench with the other small tools on the work table.
The small, sleek robot in front of her whirred to life, its round camera-eyes blinking slowly once, twice. They weren't at the same time, but that was something minor Tinkerbell could adjust later.
Clank leaned over her left shoulder and smiled wide. “Whoa-ho-ho, Tink! That looks great!" he exclaimed, clapping her on the back.
Bobble leaned over her right shoulder, adjusting his big glasses. “Oh yes! I'd say it's your best one yet!” he said, impressed.
Tinkerbell held her chin a little higher, her chest swelling with pride. "Now it's time to test it!" she said excitedly, picking up the remote.
She pushed the switch towards her on the control pad with her thumb. The robot rolled forward in her direction smoothly. She maneuvered the switch, and it pivoted on its wheels. Then, with the press of a certain button, it performed a little bow.
Clank and Bobble applauded, 'oohhing' and 'aahhing' their praises.
“See?” Tinkerbell said proudly, looking more at her friends than at the bot. “Completely under control this time!"
That hadn't always been the case at other times, which Vidia took it upon herself to remind Tinkerbell of. Often.
Vidia was lucky she was pretty.
Not that Tinkerbell would ever tell her that.
Or that she secretly watched her run sometimes.
And especially not why.
"No explosions, no unexpected flames—”
The robot let out a long beep.
The three of them froze.
Another dangerous beep.
Then a noisy whirr.
Then a sharp grinding sound.
"...Might've spoken too soon," Bobble said warily, he and Clank backing up nervously.
The robot spun violently, the volume of its gears rising.
"Uh—wait! Hang on—!" Tinkerbell jabbed a button on her remote. When that didn't work, she tried another.
The robot's speed increased, and something inside of it sounded like it was scraping against something else it definitely shouldn't be. Some red and purple wires popped out of its boxy figure.
Tinkerbell jabbed at random buttons, panic climbing in her chest.
Then suddenly, the robot shot in Clank's direction.
Clank shouted and dove out of its way.
"No! Stop!!" Tinkerbell cried, lunging with an arm out, trying to catch it.
But it zipped out of her reach and launched itself off the table with alarming trajectory. It went right through the closed window like a projectile, teens crying out and shielding themselves, or taking cover under tables at the shower of glass.
Tinkerbell bolted out of the room and ran through the halls as fast as she could.
"Tink?"
She ran by Terence, who'd quickly jumped out of her path, wide-eyed. Tinkerbell would've explained if she could, but she was kinda pressed for time. Ignoring startled stares, she burst out the doors outside, frantically looking around.
Then she heard screams.
That would be it.
Tinkerbell ran towards the track field.
The rogue robot tore through the track team's practice, girls shrieking and scattering in disarray.
It was after Vidia.
Oh no.
"Vidia, look out!" Tinkerbell yelled, trying to run faster on her adrenaline.
Vidia was mid-sprint, having been ahead of the other girls—it was why she was the star runner of the track club. She glanced over her shoulder, gaze on Tinkerbell in confusion. At the sight of the thing with red eyes catching up to her, fear splattered her face.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
She veered off the track, but the robot spun and barrelled after her.
Vidia paled and ran faster. "CALL IT OFF OR WHATEVER ALREADY, TINK!" she demanded.
“I’m trying!” Tinkerbell shouted, mashing buttons on the remote uselessly, “It’s not listening!”
"WELL, DO SOMETHING!" Vidia cried.
"What do you think I'm doing?!" Tinkerbell tried throwing the remote at the robot, but missed by a mile. "Whatever you do, Vidia, just, don't stop running!"
"OH, NO, ACTUALLY, I THINK I'M GONNA LAY HERE AND SUN TAN! NO SHIT, I WON'T STOP RUNNING, I DON'T WANT TO DIE BY ONE OF YOUR STUPID CONTRAPTIONS!!"
“No dying happening! Promise!”
Vidia darted toward the infield with the psycho bot zooming after her. Tinkerbell's lungs and legs were burning, and she was falling behind them.
Vidia’s foot caught the edge of the track. She stumbled and hit the ground hard with a yelp.
Tinkerbell's pulse spiked in her ears. “VIDIA!”
Vidia scrunched in on herself.
Oh no!
The robot shuddered, then jerked to a stop just before its paneling burst open in a cluster of colourful wires and smoke, a storm of mettalic parts blasting out in every direction. A cacophony of shrieks coursed through the track team, all scrambling to dodge gears, screws, springs and metal plates.
A coil bounced off the turf mere inches from Vidia’s shoe, a wheel rolling past her hip.
Vidia slowly looked up from behind her arms, hesitantly uncurling her limbs.
Tinkerbell stopped in front of Vidia, skin flushed with sweat and heat, hands on her knees. She hunched over, gasping for air.
"Oh, good!" she wheezed in relief, "you're okay, you're okay..."
She didn't know what she'd do if Vidia...
Vidia glared up at her. "Okay?" she said lowly. She stood, hands balling into fists at her sides. "That thing almost killed me!"
Tinkerbell winced. "But it didn't," she said with a nervous smile, "You're fine, so no harm done?"
She realized that was the exact wrong thing to say when Vidia's pupils practically turned to slits.
"No harm done? Fine? You call me nearly getting killed 'fine'?!” Vidia yelled right in her face.
“It wasn’t going to kill you!” Tinkerbell protested, hackles raised. “You’re being dramatic!”
“Dramatic?! Yeah, I tend to make a big deal out of almost being murdered!”
"I wouldn't have let that happen! Maybe you should join the drama club!"
"And maybe you should join the 'inventors' whose freak inventions always fail club'!"
"My inventions do NOT always fail!"
"Only in your dreams, sweetie!"
"You better watch your mouth, sweetie!"
"Or what, sweetie?!"
The shouting match escalated to insults being hurled at each other, as per usual. It was no secret that rivals Tink and Vidia disliked each other, yet couldn't seem to stay away from each other. Everyone in Pixie Hollow High was used to their frequent arguments.
Tinkerbell lunged, as apparently, yelling was no longer enough.
Everyone was also used to their frequent fights. Despite knowing Tink's temper better than anyone else likely, Vidia didn't seem to know when to stop—or perhaps didn't care to.
Some concerned girls tried to convince the green and purple heap of flurrying arms and hair-pulling to stop, but it fell on deaf ears.
Except for the unmistakable voice of a teacher.
“WHAT on EARTH is going on here?!”
Tink and Vidia froze, Tinkerbell's hands gripped in Vidia's ponytail, Vidia's shoe smushed against Tink's face. Fairy Mary stood at the edge of the track, hands on her hips, unimpressed scowl on her face..
“She—!” Vidia started.
“She—!” Tink tried at the same time.
"A-bup-bup-bup!" Fairy Mary held up a silencing hand. "I don't care. Detention for the both of you. You can clean up the classroom while you're at it."
“What?!”
“But that's not fair—!”
“A-bup! Not another word! Now pick up those robotic parts before someone loses an eye."
———
After filling a mop bucket with warm water and cleaning solution, Tinkerbell and Vidia stood together in the empty classroom.
Tinkerbell sighed, slumping, “We have to clean the whole classroom?”
Vidia humphed and started moving desks against the wall, hair swishing behind her. “We wouldn’t, if it wasn’t for your stupid robot," she said.
“It’s not stupid!” Tinkerbell snapped, glimpsing at Vidia's hair, face, figure... then remembered that she was annoyed. “It just has a few bugs!” She began moving the desks on the other side of the room against the other wall.
“Bugs that wrecked my track!” Vidia reminded her of the streak that was now present in the middle of the track field. “And nearly killed me!”
“It wouldn’t have killed you!” Tinkerbell exclaimed—then faltered. "P-probably."
Vidia gave her a look.
"The worst that could've happened is you busting a leg!" she insisted.
Vidia stared, arching an unfairly attractive eyebrow, at her.
"...Or losing it," Tink mumbled.
Vidia turned to her with a sassy flip of her hair, a hand on her hip. “Oh, and that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“Hey, that didn’t happen! I stopped it!”
“Oh, my hero," Vidia drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. “Get over yourself. You’re always pulling stunts like that, Tink.”
“It was an accident!” Tinkerbell defended.
“Uh huh, sure.”
Vidia grabbed a mop from the closet, dipped it in the mop pail, wrung it out, and then started mopping her side of the floor.
Tinkerbell gawked at her. “What is THAT supposed to mean?!” she demanded, aggressively grabbing the other mop.
She knew that she and Vidia had beef—always had since the moment they met—but, surely, Vidia didn't think that she... hated her that much, right?
Vidia may have been grating at times, and Tinkerbell (barely) tolerated her more than she enjoyed being around her. But she wasn't that bad. She had her moments where she was... softer. She could be thoughtful, even sweet. And she was cool. And pretty...
Tink's chest tightened. She didn't want her to think that she'd tried to hurt her on purpose.
“Why don’t you tell me, sweetie?!” Vidia snapped. “Why does every robot you make that malfunctions, combusts, or explodes—or all three," she gestured to herself, "have to be near me?!”
Tinkerbell didn't know how to properly answer that without revealing too much. “W-well why are you always running near the robotics club’s workshop?!” she demanded in return.
Vidia huffed. “I… I asked you first!!” she exclaimed, cheeks a dusty pink.
“That’s just a deflection!” Tinkerbell said angrily.
“You’re the one who’s deflecting!” Vidia snapped back.
“Well if you used that thing of yours called a brain, you’d realize it’s pretty obvious that I like you!!”
Tinkerbell wasn't thinking beyond her temper, face angry red.
Until the room fell silent.
Vidia stopped mopping, her eyebrows shot up high, expression shocked.
The weight of what she'd said slammed into Tinkerbell.
“…What?”
“N-nothing!” Tink spluttered, frantic, turning away and mopping over the same spot again. “Never mind! It was nothing!”
“You like me?” Vidia's voice was soft.
Tinkerbell went stiff. “…Yeah. I do," she said. "There," she huffed, shakily, heart painful and feeling like it was trying to clog her throat. "You happy now?” she asked bitterly.
Vidia was quiet.
She leaned the mop she was using against the wall, then crossed the distance in between her and Tinkerbell.
“No.”
Tinkerbell flinched, but then Vidia grabbed her shoulder, turned her toward her, and—
Kissed her.
On the lips.
Cupped her cheek.
Gentle.
Tinkerbell's mop clattered to the floor.
Their lips slowly parted from one another. Vidia's face was bland, as if she hadn't just kissed her.
But her eyes were soft.
“Because I have feelings for an idiot,” she murmured, the look in her gaze giving away how she really felt.
Tinkerbell gaped, mind struggling to process the lingering feeling of Vidia's lips against hers. She blushed. “I’m a tinkerer. You’re the idiot," she pouted.
Vidia smirked and it really had no right looking so beautiful. "Need I remind you that you didn’t realize I liked you either?”
Tinkerbell blinked. “…Touché," she relented with a smile.
Vidia smiled back.
They both laughed, years of heated rivalry melting into gentle warmth. Then Tinkerbell leaned in and kissed Vidia, arms going around each other.
The wet floor was forgotten.