Mixed Signals

~*~~*~~Chapter Six~~*~~*~~*~

Later that evening, after the two of them had at long last completed work on the RUC mobile unit, Celica and Accela retired to her apartment. At the same moment of the front door slamming, they began a kiss that lasted from there into the bedroom over the span of ten minutes. It was broken when Accela shoved her away and ran into the bathroom.

"What's the matter?" Celica asked warily through the door.

"I'm fine," the voice responded shakily. "I... that was... it was kind of overwhelming, there's a lot about this I'm still not used to. You're so sweet to me, so compassionate..."

"I put the 'passion' in compassionate," Celica joked. "Seriously, though, why'd you bolt?"

"Like I said, it was overwhelming. Don't hate me, I already feel like an idiot, alright? And... okay, that was stupid of me to flip out and run away, I know I could have just asked you if we could take a breather."

"You could have TOLD me," she corrected, folding her arms. "Remember, you didn't want me to be the boy-girl, so don't act like you need my permission for anything."

A honking sound; Accela was blowing her nose. "Okay, I know that. Like I said: stupid." Then the door opened and Accela slipped her arms around Celica's waist. "Now... want to try this again?"

"No," Celica sighed, stepping back and away. "You kind of killed the mood."

"What?! B-but-"

"Kidding," she said, sticking her tongue out. "Half-kidding; you did mortally-wound the mood, though. So let's get dinner going, then contemplate, uh, round two."

Accela nodded shyly, kicking at the carpet. "Yeah... I guess you have a point. And I am hungry. Want to help me chop vegetables?"

"You trust me not to lose a finger? Wow, this relationship IS progressing."

"Oh, stop."

Once the dish was boiling merrily on the stove, they moved to the couch where Celica could comfortably straddle her friend without much danger of falling. There was quite a bit of rouge in Accela's cheeks as they kissed, hands briefly teasing other areas without lingering overlong. Just as Celica's lips were gliding along her neck, she whispered, "Tell me something."

"What?" she replied without ceasing her advance.

"You... you've been holding back for a while, right?" She took the silence as a confirmation as the lips pushed at the neckline of her shirt, dipping lower, and lower still... "Ah... I m-mean, this is what you've wanted from me in all th-that time, isn't it? To be- to be closer?"

It didn't surprise her that even with the position they were currently in, it was still difficult for her to confess. "Yeah..."

"Then aren't I... moving too slow? If you've been restraining your desires for weeks, you must have a lot of need pent up that you'd like to - OOH - to let loose."

"Maybe so," Celica said with a wicked grin as she removed her face from the cleavage she'd been attacking. "But... okay, promise not to laugh, or think I'm going nuts?"

"I promise."

"Now that you've... relented," she said sinfully, and Accela yelped and averted her eyes from the undiluted arousal in her friend's voice and features, "and now that I can have you all to myself... I don't mind taking my time. It makes this all the more... savory."

"Oh my God," Accela breathed, hands clutching to her own chest. "Y-you're an animal..."

"I am." Using her mouth, she nipped the hem of her blouse upward and began tracing the tip of her nose in circles around Accela's navel. "I'm a panther, didn't you know? You are my prey. Now that I've caught your scent, there's no escape."

"Celica..." When she felt the first gust of hot breath blast up her skirt, she gasped her friend's name out again with greater urgency - and hearing her own name from her friend's lips with so much lust behind it inflamed Celica more than she dared admit. "CELICA!"

"You smell... so good," Celica moaned, knowing she was chomping at the bit from only what they'd done so far. "Down here, even. I never thought I'd say another woman's pussy would set me off, just by smelling it..."

Accela's thighs drew together as a reflex, but she stopped when they met the side of her friend's head, trying her best not to squeeze any further. "D-don't say things like that. I'm... it's too forward, I don't know how to feel..."

"Let me touch it," she implored with quiet desperation. "Right now. With my face, with my hand, with something!"

"No, y-you can't! I'm not ready! AAAH!"

The shout was because Celica had nipped the tender flesh of an inner thigh with her teeth. Now the legs did squeeze together, but only so tight as to keep her head from coming any closer to the prize in the middle. This was a clear sign to cease her forward motion, but still Celica was being enveloped by the rich aroma, so very nearby... "I want it... oh, I want it..."

"Me too," Accela admitted with a hefty dose of humiliation. "B-but not yet, I can't take it, I couldn't, I know I couldn't!"

"Then..." Celica was struck by inspiration; why not? It was how she'd become more familiar with her own body all those many years ago. "Then touch it yourself. Let me watch you do that."

"What?! No way, I- I'd never- I don't know anything about it!"

"Now is the time to learn," she goaded. "Before you can let me anywhere near it, you probably have to find out how it feels - and trust me, trust me completely when I say that the easiest way is to do it yourself. That way you are in complete control, nobody's forcing it on you, nobody's taking your experience into their hands. It's all you and you alone."

"B-but..." There was some ground clearly giving way, and it shone through her words, but this was a lot for her to circumvent in one afternoon. "But it's going to sound funny, and smell, and I'm going to have to feel that on my fingers..."

"How did I feel to your fingers?"

Accela drew a sharp breath, but when Celica managed to draw her face up and flash her an impish grin, Accela relaxed - if only a modicum. "Well... you didn't feel so bad. Just... soft. And kind of rubbery."

"Rubbery?!"

"Don't make fun. I don't know how else to describe it, okay? I'm pretty new at this stuff!"

"Okay, I'm sorry," she giggled. "So it didn't feel too bad. That's what they feel like. So roll with that; just go for it. I'm sure you've put in plenty of tampons, and had to wipe or whatever, so it's not like you've never, ever, ever had a moment's contact. So bite your lip and take the plunge, I'm right here."

Celica felt her heart flip-flop when she saw the hand inching downward, trembling but moving at a steady rate. It paused when it reached the hem of the skirt, but then slowly drew it up, and hovered over the panties. "Could... you can t-take those off, if you want to help me out a little."

"Try it THROUGH the panties first," Celica instructed. "It's a less intense sensation. Didn't you say something about baby steps before?"

"Yeah," Accela laughed. "I did." One finger pushed into the fabric, moving down, from side to side, and there were slight, breathy moans. "Ooh... I see what you mean. It's exciting, but not too strong."

"Perfect," Celica sighed, her hand automatically seeking out her own pleasure zone as she knelt, watching like a hawk. "Push in just a little more, use two fingers. That's it. Now... are you doing okay?"

"Mmm," she let out, thighs drawing together again, then falling wide. "This is... how did I not do this before? Why do I always miss out on everything? Ahh... haha, it's so weird, but I think I'm starting to get into this."

Celica grinned as her fingers pressed into the crotch of her khaki slacks. This was perhaps the most erotic thing she'd ever witnessed. Who could possibly knock a show like watching someone touch themselves for the very first time in their lives? "Yeah, that's right. Get into it. We're going to get rid of the panties in a moment, but not yet - that's a warning, so you've got time to psych yourself up before we get there."

"Thank you," she replied musically, hand moving more quickly now - and Celica was surprised to see her other one, without any suggestion, moving up to cup one of her own little mounds and give it a mild squeeze. "Ooh - that was - I don't know why I wanted to do that, but I definitely do not regret it!"

"Me either," Celica concurred, fingers unbuttoning her pants of their own accord. "Now... if you want my help, I'll be glad to jump in, but otherwise..."

"It's time to move forward?" she asked, with some fear in her voice. "But... but I'm enjoying where I am now."

"This isn't up to you," Celica said, imitating the brisk authoritative tones of their superior officers. "It's for the good of the team. Team Accela. This is a training exercise."

Accela was still nervous, but she did laugh, showing she wasn't altogether terrified. "Okay. So... so I'm going to take these off. How do... oh, I don't know about this..."

"You're still nervous about it, huh? That's okay. Here's what we'll do; at the count of three, you pull them down to your knees and leave them there. If you want, they can stay and block my view so you don't feel so exposed - but if you decide later that you want them all the way off, I'll handle it. Clear?"

"Clear."

"Okay," she panted, trying to keep the desire from her voice as she allowed her slacks to slip down from her waist, revealing her black lace underwear - not that anyone was paying attention to that. Her mind was reeling, saturated with lust. It was the secrecy of it all; Accela was too absorbed in her own exploration to realize she wasn't the only one getting off, and that lent Celica's hidden actions a sense of indecency that only made it hotter, more delicious. The lace was already moist, just from being touched through TWO layers of cloth. Celica licked her dry lips before saying, "Okay, let's do it. One... two... three!"

To their shared amazement, Accela's hands clumsily jerked the white cotton underwear from hips to knees in one swift motion, after which she gasped, "AH! Oh wow, I... I did it! I was pretty sure I was going to chicken out!"

"You didn't," Celica intoned, allowing the aroma from the garment now a fraction of an inch from her nose to fill her up. "Mmh, this is so good..."

"Huh?" Accela seemed to realize what was going on - as far as the panties were concerned. "Celica, d-don't... those are my..."

"But they smell divine. Oh, I can't get enough, it's like crack!"

"Celica!"

"You know that archaic old saying, how you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink?" Without waiting for an answer, Celica pressed her face into the wet spot before her, earning another gasp of dismay. "Well, let's look at the flipside; if you DO lead a horse to water, you can't be surprised if he does. Got me?"

Accela nodded, fingers playing at her pubic hair absentmindedly; she was too hesitant to explore further than this on her own. "I g-guess, if you say so. I didn't mean to... to lead you. I never meant to lead you on, ever."

"You didn't have to; you're so unbelievably fine, it's amazing it took me this long to notice." Before Accela could react, she charged ahead, "Ready to continue?"

"Not remotely! I'm scared witless of what I'm doing. But if you insist, I think I can go a little farther."

"Good girl. And remember, if you can't do it, just pull your underwear back on... but if you want more, let me know and I'll take them the rest of the way off." She got a quick nod, but her eyes were looking off into the corner, lip trembling. "Hey. Right now, I can't see you, not from this position. So you're not 'putting on a show'; it's all about YOUR discovery."

"If you say so," she whispered, but she at least turned back to look at Celica, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Right. I'm going for it, now. People all over the world do this all the time, right?"

"Girls from nine to ninety," Celica laughed encouragingly. "Pretend you're alone. You just want to know what it's like. This doesn't make you some kind of deviant or pervert, it makes you human. There's no shame."

"But it's filthy," she protested, unable to keep from voicing her innermost concerns. "And germy. And we're supposed to- to do this with another person, not with our hands!"

"Put your finger on the part at the top." Celica watched the visible section of her arm twitch, then heard the telltale gasp that signaled she'd found what she was searching for. "See that? Now, if we were built so we could only receive gratification during heterosexual intercourse, how come that little baby's there? You can sit down on a bicycle seat wrong and stimulate it, so I think it's safe to say a hand's not the weirdest way to get yourself off."

"Oh!" Accela whispered, twitching all over. "I... I don't think I was touching this before, how- WHOA, oh my God, how long has THIS been there?"

"Yeah!" Celica moaned as she thrust her own hand between panties and skin, seeking out her own erogenous zones. "MMhh, do it, Accela - get in there, show me what you got!"

"Sh-show you? B-but you said- you said I didn't h-have to show you!"

"Expression," she bleated absentmindedly, swaying as she felt deep into her dankness, bringing forth jolts of extreme sensation. "Show me what you can do. I don't have to see it with my eyes to be here for it."

"MMNGH," Accela cried out. "I ca- I can't stop anyway! This is so disgusting but so fantastic, I didn't know I could do this!"

"Yeeaah," Celica said as she pressed her tongue to the wet spot on the panties; it was salty and bitter, which sent a chill down her spine, but beyond that it tasted like fabric softener. If only she could place her mouth upon the real deal... "Keep moving your hand down, now. I think you need to feel the rest of it, become... better acquainted."

"Mmm... that's nice. Damn, that's nice; it's not as intense as it is up top, but there's a... a vulnerability down here, the way it gives in more easily - gives way. OH - oh, my finger went in, what do I do?!"

Celica's hips bucked when she heard that, but she forced herself to remain calm. "Hah! Okay, let's move it around, back and forth, up and down - don't force it in any deeper yet. Explore at the current depth for now. How is it?"

"It's... I don't have any idea how to say it." Accela made a pained face for a moment, which was immediately followed by one of surprise. Then she bit her lip and closed her eyes, getting lost in the simple joy it gave her. "Ooh, Celica, I like this; this must look so ugly, and those squelching sounds coming out of it are abominable, but by the same token... it's so warm and delicate, and when I push into it I tingle all over. Have... have you ever done this before?"

"Honey," she laughed, honestly amused by this question, "what do YOU think?"

"I think that's why you're such a perfect... tour guide," Accela settled on with a weak laugh, creating more those "abominable" squelching noises as she worked at her flesh. "You know how all this is from personal experience. I'm so lucky."

A tiny smile pulled at the corner of Celica's mouth, and she paused for a moment as she drank in the beauty of the one below her. "No... I'm the lucky one, I'm pretty sure about that."

"Oh - I, uh - whoa, that's- NNNNHH, Celica, something's wrong!"

"What do you mean?" she asked immediately. "What's the matter?"

"There's... I dunno, but it feels like- like maybe I have to pee, or maybe throw up? I can't tell, j-just-"

"Is it down here?" she asked, snaking her free hand around her legs as she used the previously-fingering arm to clutch Accela's shin for support. She touched a hand lightly to her hip. "Behind here, right in the center? Tightness, electricity?"

"Y-yeah. What's wrong, am I-"

"You're fine," she laughed aloud, cheeks aching from the size of her smile. "You're about to, uh... y'know."

"No, I d-don't! What am I-" Then she caught on, and her eyes flew open as she caught her breath. "No way, not from this, it's- I thought we were just training today!"

Celica's nose crinkled as she winked at her friend. "You didn't think we'd do all this work without any payoff, did you?"

"But I'm not ready, not for - and you're in the room, I can't do that in front of you, I won't!"

"Too late, Accela; unless you really want to stop yourself from finishing. But fair warning: you'll probably spend the rest of the night feeling incredibly cranky if you let that happen."

The redheaded greenhorn had stopped moving her arm, but after several seconds of keeping still, indecisive, her hips began to move. "UnnhHHh, what- oh crap, I'm not trying to do th- do this, but I can't help myself! What's wrong with me?"

"It feels good," Celica moaned, hand back under the black lace and pounding away. "That's what's 'wrong' with you! Have at it, sister, this is all yours - nobody should take it away from you! Not even you," she added with a chuckle.

"B-but- but I've never had one! Not even with a man!"

Celica blinked, hand stilling as she absorbed that. "Excuse me? Are you... are you sure about that?"

"If you had asked me yesterday, then I wouldn't have known what to tell you! But... but now... I'm pretty freaking sure I have never had one of these before in my life, because I think I'd remember! And n-now the first person to give me one is... is MYSELF?! That's so sad and pathetic, why am I doing this?"

"It's neither of those, you nut," Celica sighed. "It's natural. You have to log some practice hours before you can play against an opponent, don't you know?"

"AH!" Her arm shot away from her pubic area, and she lay there, panting. "No, I- I'm too scared!"

"You can do this!"

"I can't!" Every inch of her face was burning red as she hissed, "And I want to, so bad, it's beautiful and ridiculous and I love it, b-but I'm too scared of what it's going to feel like when- when I- when it happens!" She took a few shallow, steadying breaths, then bravely put her hand back down there, but as she let out a sharp moan she jerked it away again. "AH! Dammit, Celica, I can't do this! I wish I was ready, but I'm not!"

"Shhh," Celica soothed as her hand passed up and down her friend's shin. "Stop stressing over it. Nobody wants you to try so hard that you aren't even having fun anymore. Kind of defeats the purpose."

"Celica..." A long moment passed with Celica secretly pulling at her lips behind the veil of lace, and with Accela rubbing her thighs together, maintaining the barest amount of sensation to keep from losing her arousal without spurring her on to finish. Then, at long last, she whispered something, but Celica's heart was pounding too deafeningly for her to pick it up.

"Sorry," she whispered, "but I couldn't hear you."

"Don't make me ask again," she said softly, holding her tightly-clenched fist in front of her mouth as if ashamed to even let the movements of her lips be visible as she spoke such treason. "I... it's too... please, just hurry up before I change my mind."

Celica drew back slightly, eyebrows knitting. "Sorry, I'm a little confused. Did you... were you asking for my help, here? And let me know if I'm out of line, instantly, as soon as possible."

"I was," she whispered. "You can go ahead this time, and like I said, do it quick before I change my mind back again."

"This is your last chance, Accela." She made sure her tone was deadly serious, despite the level of need that laced every word. "I'm... I'm about to pull your panties off, and touch you. Once I do that, I'm not gonna stop unless you, y'know... use a blunt object to knock me unconscious. This is all about you, and I respect your body and your wishes, but I've only got so much freaking restraint. Tell me to back off now while you still can, or let me run completely wild. What's it gonna be?"

Accela seemed frightened by this prospect - that this was her last decision, her point of no return - but then she shed a pair of crystalline tears as she nodded.

"No, no nodding. I have to hear it." There was a hitch in Celica's voice as she followed up with, "I don't want to look back later and realize I misread your body language, okay? You should be able to remember why."

"I remember. And that's a yes. I want you to finish me off. I want you, Celica!"

By the end of that last syllable, Accela's panties were on the floor. Two heartbeats later, a bronze finger was tracing lightly along the border of a pale pink oriface. It was so gorgeous - and Celica had never anticipated thinking such a thing about someone else's vagina. Sure, she'd admired her own in the mirror, deciding there were reasons all those men had praised it. There was a grace to its form beyond mere functionality; it was curved and rigid in the places it needed to be. But now, looking at this one - how soft and fragile it was, how full and unmolested each little fold was, how round and smooth and tiny her clitoris was - she felt a deep-seated hunger that she couldn't understand, but she accepted it readily; there was no time to ponder at the reasons when it was so urgent to satisfy. Placing her middle and index fingers on either side, she spread slightly... and dipped into it with her tongue.

"OH GOD!" Accela cried out. "Get out of there, stop it, no! You c-can't- you can't use your MOUTH, that's so sick!"

"Mmnah," was all she could say as she buried her face in it, lapping up the ample fluid that poured forth. Every movement spurred a reactive one in the legs on either side of her head, but she ignored these - which is only to say she didn't let them stop her, because knowing she was invoking such a strong reaction in her partner added much fuel to her fire. Between this and the sudden uptick in volume Accela was putting out - they could probably hear her out in the street - Celica knew every detail of this evening would remain with her until the day she died. After using her tongue to clean every inch of its outer surface, she slowly began to work it inside, beyond the outer borders and into the core.

"NOOOO!" Two hands latched roughly into her messy raven locks, but they didn't pull her away; they clutched to stabilize, to prevent her mind from breaking in two. Luckily for Celica, she enjoyed having her hair tugged on, especially in the heat of the moment. "Your mouth, it's too much, I wasn't ready for all this - OOOH, your tongue! Oh my God, what are you, part lizard?!"

At that one, Celica laughed into her friend, and the vibrations and air current caused such a violent spasm that they both nearly ended up on the floor. When Celica raised up briefly, there were tears in her eyes and she moaned, "You are... sweet. Like a honeycomb. I want to chew on you until there's nothing left - I want everything you have to be mine!"

"CELICAAAAAH!" she shouted as her forbidden fruit was assaulted once more by the last person she'd expected to approach it. "Y-you- how can you be saying things like this to me?! I'm just your friend, just a girl you work with, and w-we- why do I like it so much?! I don't want to feel like this about you!"

"I know," she mumbled around Accela's silky folds as she tried to ignore the dizziness from encountering the source of such a heady aroma. "It's been... killing me. Feeling this way about you. Wanting you. Needing you."

"Needing me?" she sobbed. "AAAH! Oh God, Celica, that was so strong - how did you DO that?"

But she didn't answer, and Accela asked no more questions. For the next minute or two, the living room was filled with the sounds of ecstasy as the hesitant girl was brought to full blossom by a trusted companion. Then, as they reached the end, she found words again.

"This is- I think th-this is it! HELP! Oh, shit, I d-don't- NNNNH, Celica!"

"That's it!" Celica grunted, one hand on each of their organs, fingers sliding around furiously. "Don't hold anything back! Nothing bad's gonna happen if you let loose and enjoy every part of it! So for once in your life, just give in to everything! Come for me!"

Accela was sobbing even as she moaned. "B-but how can I? It'll be too disgusting, and I m-might sound really strange when I do, and- OOOH, it's here! Help, Celica, make it all go away!"

"It WILL go away - if you let it run its course!" With a moan of pure need, she wrapped her lips around the clitoris, sucking hard, tongue stabbing into it. "Come!" she ordered out the side of her mouth. "Come, and we'll be done! Let me make you come!"

"Yes!" she screamed, hips bucking into Celica's face, hands squeezing her own chest. "Make me come! Celica, please, m-make- make me- AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIGH!"

"HNNHHHAAGH!" Celica moaned as she climaxed herself, both hands tensing along with every other muscle she possessed. She felt ounces of fluid slide down her hand, down her thighs. "Oh, Accela!"

"Mmah! Yaah! NNNNah! Ooh... oh, oh, OH, oh..."

And then they relaxed. Accela's legs ended up draped around Celica's shoulders, and Celica's head was on Accela's stomach, her chin just resting in the jungle of hair. Sixty seconds crawled by as they regained their breath, allowed their heart-rates to slow. Then Celica began to laugh, first low, then heartily from the gut.

"What?" Accela gasped.

"I can smell your ass. Wow, you must have been sweating like a pig!"

"Oh, ew!" With that, Accela scooted backward, leaving Celica lying on the couch. "How could you say that to me? GROSS, I c-can't believe- that's so-"

"Chill out, spaz," Celica giggled, cuddling the warm spot where her friend's behind had been moments before. "Did I say it smelled bad? No. When you assume you make- oh, wow, that's really funny, because we were just talking about-"

"Stop it," Accela said meekly. "I... I didn't mean to make you smell anything. Don't be nasty about it. Are you sure it- ACK!"

"Listen," Celica whispered as she wrapped her arms around Celica's middle, face finding a cozy spot between neck and shoulder. "This is the first time I've ever lingered around with somebody after they've finished long enough to be able to get a whiff of that sweaty-ass bouquet, since by now I'm usually out the door and gone. So it's... I dunno, comforting or whatever. Don't ask me why."

An impatient tutting issued from the redhead's lips. "You cannot be serious. Nobody likes that smell, nobody. So you trying to tell me you do is such a... such... hey, where are your pants?"

"Huh?" Celica followed her line of sight. "Oh, yeah, I took 'em off. Bet they're down around my ankles."

"But why did you do that?" When Celica only pulled back to give her a 'is your brain on the fritz?' look, Accela gasped. "No! Come on, were you really- did you get BOTH of us off?"

"What can I say? I got skills like that."

"Wow..." The redness that had mostly faded from Accela's face returned in full force. "So... when I was... then you were, too. Ooh..."

Celica's grin was highly suggestive. "Methinks your interest is piqued by this notion. Wanna... switch places? Go for round three?"

Accela laughed nervously, eyes averted. "M-maybe some other time, when I think I could actually manage what you did. But I don't know if I wanna do that if I have to, y'know, endure your sweaty-ass smell along with the rest."

"Hey, part and parcel." She inhaled deeply through her nose, and when she spoke her lips brushed Accela's skin. "You smell divine... everywhere, so far. I meant what I said, about devouring you."

"Do you have to do that?" she breathed, swallowing anxiously as one of her hands drew up to her chest. "You d-don't sound like the Celica I know when you say stuff like that."

"This is the only Celica there is. What do you think? This is how I talk to my lovers."

There was definite dismay in her eyes. "Lovers! Don't j-jump to conclusions, this is only- you were supposed to help teach me, and we're letting off steam, but you're... pushing it into territory I'm not ready to explore!"

"You've forged a few paths already today, Dr. Livingston. What's one more? If you decide to... put your mouth on me..."

"Alright, that's enough," Accela snapped. "I'm... I'm still not even ready for what we already did, let alone anything worse, so drop it."

"Ohhh, God, but it's so HARD!" Celica relented, flopping down on Accela's shoulder. "So maybe I was hamming it up there, but it's not like I'm lying; I'm totally warm for your form. It creeps me out, too. But... you do like me, and how I feel, right?"

Only now did Accela let out a neutralizing blast of air. "Maybe. That's all you're getting out of me tonight, do you understand? MAYBE I don't hate all these new feelings and concepts. But... oh, I'm not trying to say you're more, um, open to this kind of thing than I am... I mean, you get it, right? You have always been more courageous and up front, and I've always been... a scaredy cat. I'm adapting as fast as I can!"

"You're doing great," Celica sighed contentedly. "If someone had said to me yesterday that you'd actually let me stick my tongue in you-"

"AAHH!" she yelped, clutching her head. "Young ears, young ears!"

"You're almost the same age as me, you pansy!" But then they both giggled. "Okay, back to my point. If someone had told me that yesterday, I'd have figured they went off their meds. But tonight..." Then she drew back and looked into her friend's eyes. "I'm not trying to be argumentative or provoke you or anything, so don't blow a fuse, but I can't lie. Accela, we made love tonight."

"No we didn't," she sputtered immediately, tears running down her cheeks from nowhere. "That was not what that was, it was- I don't- experimentation, or whatever, but there's no way you can count that as-"

"You let me into your most sensitive place," she went on doggedly, wiping her friend's tears away with one finger. "I asked beforehand, before we even began, and you accepted, and in I went... and you didn't bludgeon me to death with a paperweight during the act. So yeah, we uh... 'did it', as the kids say."

Accela was weeping openly. "No. I don't want that to be true. You're my best bud, not my- what if this doesn't work out? I don't want some crap like this t-to ruin what we had before!"

"It won't. But even if it could, it doesn't change what went down. Which was me, incidentally." When Accela let out a damp little laugh, Celica leaned in and kissed another tear away. "You and I have coalesced on a sexual plane. Maybe to you that sounds repulsive or unclean or bad like that, but to me... it's something to celebrate. I got to connect to the person who's most important to me in the deepest way possible? Awesome! I want to sing, I want to scream - I want to let the words echo off the Aurora Shell! My Accela and I became one!"

"Oh... it sounds so beautiful when you say it," she blubbered, her own hands finally coming to rest on Celica's back and clutching it with a near-crippling tenacity. "But how can I let myself enjoy it? M-my parents wanted so badly for me to marry a nice man, settle down, raise a family... things I can't do with you."

"Who says? You know the adoption laws in this city don't specify that both parents need be opposite genders."

Accela's eyes filled with fresh tears as she considered that. "Oh my God! We... w-we could even adopt an unregistered citizen! Oh wow, wouldn't that be- oh, Celica!"

"Hey, one step at a time!" she giggled as Accela squeezed her to pieces. "Did I even say I wanted kids? I merely said it was an option to discuss later. But... yeah. It would be nice to give some poor kid from the lower levels a chance. But first you have to figure out if... figure out what you want out of this."

At that, Accela tensed. They both remained perfectly still for a while, thinking, but also enjoying the nearness. Finally, Accela whispered, "I still don't know. It's... so soon, too soon for me. Don't be mad."

"Why would I be mad? You didn't shoot me down already, and that's way more than I figured I'd get." She drew back. "Kiss me."

"Huh?"

"One more time - one time when we're expecting it, voluntarily." Celica licked her lips, throat constricted. "Nothing crazy, just a small one. But if you..."

She broke off because Accela was already leaning in, eyes closed. Now, when their lips drifted together, they both moaned, they both relaxed into it as one. Four hands rose to touch necks and cheeks, two tongues brushed against one another, then retreated. Then, as if by an invisible cue, they both sat back and gazed into each other's eyes.

"So perfect," Accela whispered in awe.

"Mmm," she breathed as she bit into her bottom lip, trying to illicit more of her friend's lingering, unique flavor from it. "Accela... do you realize what you're doing to me?"

"I..." She cleared her throat, shifting uneasily. "I'm not trying to."

Celica shot her a blissful smile. "That's where the magic is. Because it's not anything you're doing. It's just who you are. To me."

Accela's hands moved slowly up from Celica's shoulders to grasp either side of her neck lightly, lip trembling as she nodded her vague understanding, but whimpering to show that she wasn't sure she deserved any of it. She began to lean in once more when she suddenly sat back and gasped, "Oh my gosh."

"What?"

"The STEW!" she shrieked, leaping to her feet; Celica enjoyed a scary teetering moment before she was able to pitch herself into the couch instead of onto the floor. "Damn, I should have been stirring it all this time, and I forgot it, and- oh no, I bet it's complete toxic waste by now!"

"Glad to know I'm ALMOST as important as your cooking," Celica chided. "Thanks for tossing me at your coffee table, I really appreciate that."

"Oops," she blanched as she retreated to the kitchen. "Y-you're right, I'm a spaz, I'm sorry! Oh, good, it looks okay - NO, there's blackened stuff stuck to the bottom! How can I fix this? Wait - I need another pot..."

Back in the living room, Celica covered her face with both hands out of frustration. At the same time, however, she was laughing anyway. It was too entertaining for her to be overly upset. Every day with Accela was like that.

~*~ To Be Continued