Outside Work We... •[TNN One-shots]•

Dictionaries •|| MIALOTTE ||•

Prompt: Mia and Charlotte going through a dictionary.

[AU]

Mia and Charlotte were hunched over their textbooks, papers scattered across the floor in their cozy little college apartment. The quiet hum of their study playlist filled the air as they struggled through midterms, the weight of exams hanging over them like a cloud.

"Ugh, I swear, every time I think I understand this, I find another word I've never seen before," Charlotte muttered, flipping through her textbook with frustration.

Mia, sitting cross-legged beside her, squinted at the page, her finger tracing an unfamiliar term. "What does 'serendipity' mean again?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

Charlotte rolled her eyes playfully. "You really don't know? It's about happy accidents, like us getting stuck in this study session together," she teased, nudging Mia with her elbow.

Mia laughed, shaking her head. "You know what I mean. I'm looking at this word, and it's just—" She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly coming across a different word that caught her eye. "Wait, Charlotte. What is this?"

Charlotte leaned over, glancing at the page. "What now?"

Mia's eyes narrowed as she stared at the word, her finger tracing it slowly, almost as if she didn't trust it. "Floccinaucinihilipilification. What even is this?" She let out a small laugh, realizing how absurd the word looked on the page.

Charlotte blinked. "I... I have no idea. Let's look it up," she said, already reaching for the dictionary on the shelf behind her.

Mia grabbed the thick book and flipped it open to the appropriate page. Her eyes scanned the text. "Okay, so it means... the action or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant. It's about thinking something is worthless."

"That's a mouthful," Charlotte said, chuckling as she took the dictionary from Mia's hands. "Who needs to use that word anyway? Who's going around calling things 'floccinaucinihilipilification'?" She shrugged, then set the book aside, returning her focus to the study notes in front of her.

Mia, still amused, took a deep breath. "Yeah, right? I can't even pronounce it." She flicked through a few more pages before looking back at Charlotte. "But, you know, it's funny... there's a lot of things I feel the opposite of that about."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, glancing over. "What do you mean?"

Mia turned toward her, a small, fond smile tugging at her lips. "Like... well, there's a lot of things that you might think are ordinary or unimportant, but for me? They're everything."

Charlotte blinked, confused but intrigued. "What kind of things?" she asked, leaning closer, the distraction of their studies starting to fade as the conversation shifted.

Mia shrugged nonchalantly, but her eyes sparkled. "Like you. You think you're just you, right? But to me, you're the most important thing in the world."

Charlotte's breath hitched. She blinked, caught off guard by the sincerity in Mia's voice. "Mia..."

Mia swallowed, suddenly feeling a little shy, but she didn't want to look away. "There isn't a word in the dictionary that can explain your type of beauty," she continued, her voice low, but steady. "It's not just the way you look—it's the way you make everything feel lighter, even when the world feels heavy. You're like the... the opposite of that word, you know? You're worth everything."

For a few seconds, Charlotte could only stare at her, her heart racing in her chest. The room around them seemed to fade into the background, the only sound the soft beat of their music and the quiet tension that had settled between them.

Charlotte cleared her throat, trying to brush off the intensity of the moment, but her cheeks were flushed. She leaned in slowly, brushing a strand of hair behind Mia's ear, letting her fingers linger for just a second longer than necessary. "You're gonna make me cry if you keep saying stuff like that," Charlotte whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Mia, still holding Charlotte's gaze, let out a quiet laugh. "Good. I'll make you cry every time if it means I get to see you like this."

Charlotte grinned, her heart warm as she leaned forward to kiss Mia. The kiss was slow, tender, as if both of them were savoring the moment, lingering in the softness of it. When they finally pulled away, Charlotte rested her forehead against Mia's, their noses touching lightly. "I don't need a dictionary to understand that," she whispered.

Mia smiled, still holding her close, her hand tracing the outline of Charlotte's jaw gently. "Good," she murmured, her voice full of affection. "Because you're everything to me, and I don't need a word for that."