Title: in bloom
Fandom: crazy rich asians
Rating: teen
Length: ~1300 words
Author notes: also for the femslash100100 sappho table, 12. may you sleep on the breast of your delicate friend & new fandom

Astrid has over a dozen apartment buildings, more than a few which would make it easy for Michael to visit Cassian on the weekends. There’s a walking distance, a short taxi, a boat ride, a longer drive, all within the island.

She picks another one in downtown nyc, a few continents to the west, instead.

She tells her family she needs space from the divorce, and none of them quite believe her. But their golden boy is home, and only a fool would trade for the first dynasty divorcee.

.

Cassian isn’t happy with the move- at first. English has never been his favorite secondary language, and maybe her mother and aunts were right about coddling him. (She’d still raise him exactly the same.) But the new place comes with a new school and new friends, and while they’re still rich prep school children, Astrid’s pretty sure they have nothing on Cassie’s old playmates. (A girl once spilled soda on his shirt because it was ‘too similar to what she wore’ and Astrid still hasn’t forgotten that brat’s face.)

He notices the lack of paparazzi early, and Astrid basks in the quiet. She can’t remember a time that she was ever able to go out into the world, knowing that her outfit likely wouldn’t be featured in a magazine or on a dozen blogs. She has a smaller staff in America, just the bare essentials. She spends more time with Cassian than she has since he was born, and one day while he’s at kindergarten, a few weeks into America, she goes to the NYU campus.

Rachel is giving a lecture on induction and deterrence theory, and Astrid’s pretty sure she could have followed it if she was here from the beginning. Rachel has a crystal clear way of teaching, and glancing around her audience, none of the students seem confused. It’s no wonder she’s probably the youngest teacher here with tenure. (A few kids are nearly nodding off in the back, but it is a Friday afternoon.)

She approaches the front as the last students leave, and Rachel’s smile freezes when she sees her.

“Are you here for Nick’s stuff? There’s a box- I meant to mail it, it’s fragile and going that far-”

“No,” Astrid interrupts. “Do you want to get a drink?”

Rachel raises an eyebrow, not smiling but at least her face is moving again. “Don’t tell me you flew all the way here for drinks. That would be ridiculous.”

Astrid nods, “That would be. Especially since the subway is much faster than a helicopter downtown.”

“What- are you- did you move?”

“I’ll be living here for a while.”

Astrid’s using her sincerely happy tone- even half means it- but Rachel sees through her, and suddenly they’re hugging. (She didn’t even realize how much she needed this, or maybe Rachel in general, feels like she can breathe for the first time since that night on the beach.)

.

Rachel brings her to her favorite restaurants, and Astrid returns the favor by bringing her to all the most expensive dining options New York City has to offer. A few turn out to be crap, but most are remarkable, a couple unforgettable. Only one makes a new addition to Rachel’s favorites- because how can one pass up on rooftop fine dining?

They go to central park and drive out to a botanical garden up north, visit museums until Cassie gets bored of them. At home, the two of them start teaching him Mahjong, Rachel sometimes playing two hands for ‘authenticity’- Cassian never had the patience to really learn before. And the three of them playing- Cassie and Rachel’s smiles big enough to light up the city- it feels like home.

.

They don’t talk about it, but Astrid has a second bureau put in. For those nights Rachel doesn’t want to take the subway home. (Astrid’s building is closer to campus anyways.) They don’t talk about it, but the bureau fills up steadily and in the bathroom all of their products are mixed together. Neither mention the guest bedroom, or that Astrid owns the entire building. She’ll hold her breath, hold her tongue, forever if Rachel keeps sharing her bed.

Not like that. It’s almost platonic, like a sleepover. Only Astrid’s hoping one morning it won’t be. (She shouldn’t. She’s already the child that got divorced, she can’t also-)

They make dumplings, it’s far different from back east with only the three of them. But as Cassie tells them about his new favorite animal- a chinchilla that a student brought to show and tell- it’s good. More intimate, and as she’s been doing more and more in the states- Astrid can let her guard down.

To far down, it turns out a few weeks later.

Cassie was having a sleepover with his new best friends, and Rachel took Astrid out for a night on the town. It was all drinking and dancing and delirious fun, and then she got a phone call from her mother.

Apparently Charlie is back in Singapore, and won’t she return too? (That he’s a good man, better than you deserve, would raise Cassian as his own- doesn’t need to be said, is loud all the same.)

The following morning explains the call, a photograph of the two of them dancing making the rounds on gossip sites. The theories go from ludicrous- that they were scheming together to steal the entire Young fortune- to downright insulting- that Rachel was promised a high society friend to leave Nick.

It’s a shitty picture- they’re both sweaty and red-faced, Astrid’s hair has fallen half down, and Rachel’s dancing is caught in a terrible moment. Rachel’s laughing though, and Astrid’s grinning too wide- and she almost wants to frame it.

(She doesn’t. But she does set up a rooftop photoshoot for the three of them, an afternoon they all have off with couture and costumes mixed together. They get dozens of adorable photos, and they all pick out their favorites to print. And she might save the dancing picture on her phone.)

.

Rachel’s been living with them for around five months when she declares it’s stupid to still be paying rent on her old apartment, and that’s that. There’s not much left to move- mostly furniture to trash or donate depending on its condition. They have a pizza night celebration when it’s all done, and Astrid still can’t believe this fairy tale is her life.

It’s like everything that was difficult or painful has been drained away, and sure she misses Singapore often. She must be a terrible daughter, because it’s so much easier to get along with her family with oceans between them. But she’s happy, she’s finally truly happy here. There’s no hiding her shopping, and Rachel doesn’t mind being pampered- loves that Astrid’s thinking about her when going about her day and simply had to get this gorgeous emerald scarf that will go so well with that one dress.

(Michael doesn’t come to visit Cassie, not even when Astrid offers to pay for the flight. She learns through the grapevine that his new girlfriend is pregnant, and Astrid has never hated anyone so much. It’s a blessing that Cassian hasn’t asked after him lately- she won’t have her son feel less than, not ever.)

.

Rachel kisses her.

One of the mom’s made pot brownies for the class pet bake sale- something which Astrid still doesn’t get, would much rather pay for a hundred puppies than try Susan’s healthy ‘cookies’- and luckily Cassie didn’t eat any (of either). The mother, Troy’s mom, Astrid should really learn her name, insisted the pot was a mistake, but that was after her and Rachel had both eaten one.

And then Rachel bought the rest, and it was a good thing her driver Jon brought them to the bake sale. The memory of getting home is a hazy mist, and having the nanny take care of Cassian. Everything was lazy and happy, and they were cuddling in bed and then Rachel kissed her.

Astrid kisses her back, easy as breathing. Astrid kisses her back, and it’s like the final puzzle piece of her life finally settling- leaving a most glorious image and hope for the future and now.