The Saltwater Express

Then, a familiar voice cut through the air and garnered Tam's attention. Zo was at the table to her right, just out of view, talking amongst her colleagues about her work. Her soft voice was a melody to Tam's ears at this point, whether or not Tam liked it, though she had to admit, she kind of did. Zo was looking at them with a sideways glance, and Tam barely caught her eye before she looked away, but something in her face was... deep. And mournful. Something about her voice held Tam's focus, and she listened for a moment.

"I'll be playing video games later," Zo said, her voice cold and smooth, as usual.

One of the other scientists gasped. "You? Really? Finally, Zo, lighten up a bit."

"Yeah," said another one, "You work too hard. Tamatha might be onto something here."

Zo sighed. "Indeed, perhaps she is. We will see, won't we?"

"What are y'all going to play?"

Shrugging, Zo said, "Whatever Tamatha wants to play, I suppose. I'm not one for video games and am only doing this to entertain her."

"Cute. When did you two get so close? As far as we knew, you two hated each other."

A new voice chimed in, rich and baritone. "Yeah, Zo. And hell, you wanna play some video games, come find me. I'll show you a thing or two."

Zo smiled at them coldly. "Thank you, but I think I'll stick to my original plan. But I appreciate your offers."

"Suit yourself," someone said.

Tamatha smiled - so Zo would bend her rigid work ethic, but only for Tam - and let her attention return to Tamika, who was watching her.

"Tam?" the girl asked, scooching over to look into her eyes. "Tam? What's up?"

Tam shook her head. "Oh, jeeze, um, nothing. Sorry. Was just eavesdropping."

Tamatha grinned. "So was I. Have fun with her, yeah? I'm rooting for you."

"Oh stop," Tam said, rolling her eyes, yet grinning nonetheless. "But thank you."

Tamika winked. "You're welcome."

~Four Hours Later~

Her black duster flapped in the wind, lashing at her calves. The large brow of her hat kept the sun from her eyes, and she idly puffed on a cigarette as the noonday sun beat down overhead. She kicked at the dust with her boots, a spur twirling. She stretched her fingers, cracked her knuckles, and squinted. The townspeople had started to gather, in the windows of shops and behind barrels and corners. They all watched her.

Tam spat, took another drag on her cigarette. "So we finally meet, Kid Zo."

Zo, standing across from Tam, a ways down the street, grunted, her own duster lashing in the breeze. Her hair was pulled back, her eyes hardened and thin in the midday sun. It was hot. Very hot. They could both feel themselves sweating beneath their heavy coats. There was a tension in the air, something pulling in both directions, like a gun being cocked back. It was as though there were two snakes slithering up to each other, preparing to pounce.

Then, Zo spoke.

"Tam, why is it necessary to roleplay like this? Can't I just shoot you?"

Tam's shoulders dropped and she sighed. "Ugh, Zo, c'mon, it's more fun when you roleplay!" she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Give it a try, please?"

Zo frowned. "Fine." Then, she scuffed at the ground, and with a sigh, said, "I'm going to kill you, Dirty Tam."

"Not if I kill you first," Tam said, throwing on a fake cowboy accent. "For too long you've assaulted these streets. It's about time someone takes you out-"

Pow!

Zo had shot Tam, who looked down, bright red blood pouring from her sternum, and then collapsed, dead.

Tam woke up in the darkened gaming car with a gasp, and then a frown. Soon, Zo was stirring too, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes. She turned to Tam, and stared at her coldly, as Tam returned the favor.

"What?" Zo asked.

Tam huffed. "You're supposed to wait until you hear the rooster call."

Then, Zo grinned, and leaned in to whisper, "Why wait when we both know the outcome of the duel before it even begins, Tam? To just delay the inevitable is... inefficient."

Tam blushed, and backed away, but not quick enough, and Zo leaned in and gave her a little kiss on the cheek before chuckling. Tam gave a panicked look around the room, but everyone else in it was engrossed in their own games, dead to the world. They were, effectively, in private.

"That was, I admit, kind of fun. I've never done that before."

Tam blinked, her mouth agape. "You've never played with neural link VR? Really?"

"I don't play video games, Tam," she said, brushing her inky black hair back. "I've always been too busy with work, studies, writing, so forth."

"So... what do you do for fun?"

"I just told you," Zo said, raising an eyebrow. "You and I have very different ideas of 'fun'."

"Yeah we do," Tam said, shaking her head. Then, she sighed, and sat back in her chair. "You don't get out much, huh?"

Zo shrugged. "My family has always been work oriented."

"Is that where you get this from?"

"And what is 'this'?"

Tam gestured vaguely. "Y'know, this. Your work ethic, your inability to lighten up, you get it from your family?"

"Ah," said Zo, folding her arms over her chest and thinking. "I suppose I do. When we were younger, on Heliologolis, I was around... eighteen, nineteen years of age, so still a young child, we were enrolled into gifted programs, all seven of my siblings and I. My parents were ruthless. Any child who failed out of that school was given to the Federation."

Tam's eyes widened. "What the fuck? Really?"

She nodded. "Yes. Really. They wanted only the best. And now I only have three siblings I know how to contact, a brother and two sisters. And of them, I was the best. My parents love me."

A sad, soft look befell Zo's face. Tam watched for a moment, the spark of recognition striking in her mind. "Oh... oh Zo, and you don't feel the same, do you?"

Zo sighed, and turned away. "No. They were cruel."

There was a pause, a moment of silence that passed between them.

"So," Tam said, "You never really got a chance to be a kid..."

"I never got a chance to have fun," Zo said softly.

"So that's why you're like this..." Tam watched her for a moment, before standing up and grinning at her. She held out her hands for Zo to take, and Zo did so after a moment's hesitation. She placed her hands in Tam's, and Tam helped her stand, saying, "Zo, Zo. All I've ever wanted you to do was lighten up. And notice me but hey, that's neither here nor there, aha."

Zo laughed, and it was beautiful and light and touched Tam's heart. "Well," said Zo, "I will tell you what. If you promise to buckle down and work with me on your theses, I'll lighten up and kick your ass in video games sometimes."

Tam scoffed. "You got lucky this time," she said, chuckling and looking up at Zo. "But next time, you won't be so fortunate, Kid Zo."

"You've failed before, and you will fail again, Dirty Tam," Zo said, chortling. "Come on you."

"Where are we going?"

"Dinner isn't for another hour," Zo said, "Which leaves us a whole hour to work on your thesis!"

Tam groaned and threw her head back, sighing. "Fine," she whined. "Let's go."

Zo patted her on the head. "Good girl. C'mon."

And with that, they left the train car.

~Six Hours Later~

That night, she and Zo skipped the sex and cuddled instead, talking about their lives, learning about each other. Something sweet was in the air, and inside of Tam, and for the first time in a long time, everything was alright. They laid together in each other's embrace, beneath the covers, as the sunset melted away into an inky, starlit night.

When Zo finally fell asleep, Tam tried to follow suit, but found she couldn't. Something was keeping her up, some restlessness that made her want to move. As the train cut through the night, she slipped out of the comforter, as carefully as she could so as to not wake Zo, and then, quietly throwing her clothes on, slipped out of the room.

The hallways were empty and silent. This late, everyone would be asleep, save for her. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, and started making her way out of the sleeping car and into one of the social cars, where she took a seat on the couch, and watched the sea go by through the window. The stars were beautiful, she thought. Like little Harvestia Festival lights in the sky, they twinkled and glimmered and sparkled, and the band of the Milky Way could be seen brightly carving through the sky with its gaseous beauty.

Just then, she had an idea.

Aha! she thought. Of course!

She stood, and started making her way back to the caboose, carefully and quietly, and then, once there, this time, she knocked on the car's door. Backing up, then, she waited for a moment.

Then, the door opened. The conductor's sleepy face poked out, his blonde hair in a bedhead nest, his eyes tired. When he saw her, he cocked his head and smiled, if wearily. "Ah, Tam. What's up?"

"Can I go out on the back again please? I wanna see the stars."

Isaac smiled down at her, and considered her for a moment. Then, he shrugged, and with a friendly sigh, said, "Sure, why not? Come on."

He opened the door all the way, and let her into what was essentially his bedroom and a boiler room combined. It was a little warm in the car, but the heat wasn't too bad. If anything, it made it feel a little cozy. Both she and he - him dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt, her in her day clothes - made their way to the back, where he opened the door and they both stepped out into the night.

Out here, the sound of rushing wind filled their ears, but thankfully the awning provided a good buffer, and they could sit mostly in peace. And sit they did, on the caboose's balcony, watching the night sky as the train barrelled down the tracks, occasionally taking a gentle turn. The maglev was a beautiful invention, and made for one of the smoothest, quietest rides around.

Isaac looked to her, then up to the sky. Then, he said, "So what brings you here this late, Tam?"

She sighed, and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. "I dunno," she said. "I was just restless. Tomorrow is the last full day of the trip, right? Then we're in Morgwana?"

"Yep," said the conductor. "Then you scientist types get to go party for a while, and then I'll drive you back! Fun times."

"Ah, yeah," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

He eyed her. "You don't think so?"

She shrugged. "It's not that," she said, some wind rolling back into the car and tussling her hair. "I just... you know, I took your advice to heart. Learned from her. Got closer to her."

"Oh? And?"

"And," she said, "It's... actually kind of nice. I think she and I are becoming a thing."

Isaac laughed. "Oh is that so? Well good for you two. Will you two be at the party tomorrow?"

"Party?" she asked, looking up at him sharply.

He nodded. "Yeah, there's a party on the last day of this journey. Because we do this every year for you guys, we like to celebrate before we get to Morgwana and before we return to Xialzaphoria. Bust out some liquor, some party favors, turn on some music, it'll be happening in the social and lounge cars, if you two wanna get your party on."

He did a little jig, then laughed. "Yeah?"

Tam watched him for a moment, and then smiled, and said, "I don't know if I can convince her to go to that. She'll probably say no and just work on her thesis. But... maybe."

"Why don't you think she'll come?"

"She's not one for parties, I don't think," Tam said. She sat there for a moment, watching the waters below them, thinking. "Actually, do you think... can we..."

The conductor eyed her for a moment. "Can we what?"

"Well... we, I mean like, us, she and I," Tam said. "I have an idea. Can I talk to you about it?"

"Shoot," said Isaac, sitting down. "I'm all ears."

"Okay," Tam said, taking a deep breath. "I'm thinking, so the party is what, seventeen hours from now?"

"Yep."

"Okay," said Tam, "check this out."

~Seventeen Hours Later~

"Check this out. Well? Do you like it?" Tam asked, spinning around. She wore a sparkling black dress that hugged her curves and draped down one leg longer than the other, exposing one of her legs more than the other. She wore black heels, and a red heart-stone necklace.

Zo watched as she emerged from the bathroom, and her eyes widened. "Tam," she said, her voice almost a purr, "You look... delicious."

She sauntered up to Tam like a vixen, hips swaying in her gold shoulderless dress, and hovered over her for a moment, before pushing her back against the wall and planting a hand on the wall so that Tam was pinned by her. "I could eat you up."

Tam's breathing grew heavy and she blushed, turning away. "Y-You look good too."

Zo leaned in and breathed on Tam's neck, curdling her skin into gooseflesh. She let out a breathy moan, and then, when Zo leaned in and bit her gently, she gasped. But then, all too soon, it was over, and Zo pulled back. They locked eyes for a moment, and shared a soft gaze, before they kissed and broke apart.

"Come, Tam," Zo said, snapping her fingers. "We have a party to attend."

"I'm surprised you want to go in the first place," Tam said, checking the mirror for her hair one last time.

Zo eyed her, bemused. "Yes well, I decided that, if you're to work with me, I'm to work with you. I'll lighten up if you buckle down. And you have. Working all day on your thesis like that was impressive, for you. I commend you. So I will go to the party with you."

"Awh," Tam said, puffing out her bottom lip. "Thanks. That means a lot. But I actually had a better idea."

"Oh?" Zo said, "And what's that?"

"Just follow me," Tam said, grinning. She took Zo's hand and, instead of hooking right toward the social and leisure cars, she hooked left, and led Zo through the game car, the garden car, all the rest, until they got to the caboose, where they stopped.

"Tam, what is this?" she asked, looking at the door to the caboose. "Why have we come to the end of the train?"

"Just chill for a sec, I'll show you," she said, knocking twice on the door and backing up.

The latch clicked, and the door swung open, revealing Isaac's face. He smiled at them, and then opened the door all the way, reaching his hand out as if to shake. "Hi," he said. "Name's Isaac. I'm the conductor of this train."

Zo raised an eyebrow at him, then looked to Tam for a moment, before taking Isaac's hand and giving it a firm shake. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Zo."

He nodded. "Hello, Zo. It's nice to meet you too. Come in, come in! We have everything set up out back."

"Out back?" she asked, looking to Tam, who shrugged wryly and feigned ignorance. Zo squinted at her.

Then, Tam and the conductor headed to the back of the long car, and Tam motioned for Zo to follow suit. She did so, joining them at the back, and when Isaac swung the metal hatch door open, he revealed a table taken from the cafe car, along with two chairs, a stormproof candle flickering in the gentle wind, and two covered platters with a bottle of wine and two empty wine glasses. Lambent light filled the enclosure, and the stars overhead, along with the moon, painted everything, the train, the sea, them, in a hauntingly beautiful celestial light.

Zo's eyes went wide as she stepped onto the back with Tam. "Tam, this is... magnificent. How did you manage this? This is clearly an off limits car, what were you doing?"

Tam chuckled, and turned to Isaac, who said, "Well, Tam here made an unannounced visit the other day, and she turned out to be good company. So you two enjoy your evening, I have to return to the party now. Do be good, okay? If you fall off, it's on you."

He laughed, and with that, he closed the door and disappeared into the train, leaving them alone. Tam motioned to the table. "Shall we?"

Zo nodded, and took a seat, Tam following suit. Then, they both removed their covers on their food, and poured two wine glasses, and ate. As they ate, as they drank, a conversation sparked.

"So," Tam said, "are you ready to present your thesis to the committee?"

Zo, swallowing, said, "Yes. Are you?"

Nodding, Tam said, "Yes, thanks to you. You really helped a lot, you know."

"You did most of the work. I just gave you pointers," Zo said. "Honestly Tam, it's some of your most impressive work. I'm astonished, and I believe you have a good shot at the prize."

Tam felt a blush rise to her cheeks. "Awh, gosh Zo. That's really sweet."

Zo, finally, cracked a gentle, warm smile. "Of course."

They shared a moment with each other, beneath the stars that shone down on the Saltwater Express, and it was warm and tender, and in that moment, they both knew they were good for each other. Tam could help Zo come out of her shell, and Zo could help Tam develop a better work ethic. It was symbiosis. And it was warm, friendly, and cordial. After all these years of being rivals, of being at each other's throats, it seemed like they'd finally found some common ground. Tam smiled. She liked it better this way.

"I like you," she said to Zo.

Zo blinked, and then chuckled, and said, "I like you too, Tam."

"You think we'll be okay?"

Nodding, Zo said, "I believe so, Tam. Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry about the Machlen thing."

Tam waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. Now that I know you a little better, I doubt you did it to hurt me."

"I didn't. I didn't even know you were speaking at the conference when I displayed my findings."

"You what?" Tam asked, stuttering. "You didn't know?"

"It wasn't personal, Tam," she said, shrugging.

Something inside of Tam broke and reformed in the matter of seconds, and once it had, a gentle heat spread through her chest. She relaxed, her shoulders falling, a smile appearing on her lips. "You're not so bad," she said, placing her hand on Zo's.

Zo smiled. "You're not half bad yourself. Mm, here," she said, raising her wine glass. "Here's to our future companionship. I believe this may be prosperous for both of us."

"Here, here," Tam said, raising hers and clinking it to Zo's. They both took a sip, and then, the conversation moved on to video games, science, home, the news, crabs, and parties. They talked through the night, as the Saltwater Express chugged on, steam pouring out of its fusion reactor like old time smokestacks. Tomorrow, they would arrive in Morgwana. And together, they would produce their theses to the committee. And whoever won, it didn't matter, as they had already found their victories in one another.

The end.