#hem hum hrm

[ashleysburrow]

The Best You

Ruby believed Penny to be perfect, but Penny isn't convinced. Ruby wants her to be the happiest she can be and obliges when she wants an upgrade.

This is a NSFW commission.

Consider all characters featured to be over 18 years of age.

Ruby believed Penny to be beautiful.

Not perfect. No one could be perfect. But Penny was perfect to her.

An easy feat, considering Ruby designed every inch of her from head to toe. What started off as a curiosity bloomed into something so much more.

Penny sat on the edge of a metal table, her legs dangling over the edge. She swung them back and forth while quietly humming to herself. The quiet parts of her voice buzzed as she reached the limits of her synthesiser, the ranges of the human voice it couldn't quite replicate. Most people wouldn't notice, but Ruby did.

It didn't make Penny any less perfect. She just thought of it as Penny's version of a vocal fry, that crispy, croaky noise girls could make when they dropped their voices especially low. For Penny it came up when she spoke just above a whisper and always, always when she hummed.

It helped make the quiet, messy workshop feel a little more homely. Ruby had parts and tools tossed all over the place, and the computer she'd set up to one side dominated the space. Cold, mechanical in an obvious way.

Penny's movements were uncannily precise. Her swinging legs stopped at precise angles in front and beneath her, never erring, never altering. Her upper body hardly moved, only shifting a little to the left and right as bodily mechanics demanded.

And yet she looked as natural as ever. Not a device on a metal slab but a person restlessly waiting atop a table.

Ruby tapped a few things one her tablet, and a large device from above started to descend down. Myriad cables dangled from it, powered tools on armatures. Half of everything Ruby needed to get started on whatever project she had in mind.

It caught Penny's attention, and her humming came to an abrupt halt with a questioning, "Hrm?" She angled her head straight up, stretching her neck. Vibrant red hair cascaded down her back while she blinked up at the carousel.

Ruby giggled and set the tablet aside. "Gosh you're so adorable."

The corners of Penny's lips curled up into a wide smile. "And so are you." Without hesitation. That was always Penny. Quick and earnest. Her tone, like the rest of her, seemed just a little off, a lack of emphasis and monotone in just the wrong way, but she had the right cadence. "I take it we are starting momentarily?"

"Yeah." Nodding, Ruby walked over to the table. A dark burn mark covered one corner, a remnant of an accident. She recalled Penny's half-bald head afterward and her nonchalance toward the whole ordeal.

She grasped Penny's hands. Cool to the touch, cooler than a human's, but not cold. Penny was never cold. Thumbs rubbed knuckles while she curled her fingers about Penny's. "Are you sure you still want to go through with this?"

The question had a finality about it, but there was nothing certain in the words. Not really. Just some changes, nothing permanent, nothing Ruby couldn't undo or adjust later.

But it felt wrong not to ask, even if it was Penny's idea.

Penny nodded and squeezed Ruby's hands in return. "I am ready."

Ruby looked down at Penny's body. She wore a spring green dress, with floral patterns crawling up from the hem. Ending at the knee and baring her collar and upper shoulders. She wore it almost all the time, barely getting dirty save for the few accidents Ruby happened to cause.

The exposed skin displayed the seams around her arms, at the elbows and and knees. The places Ruby hadn't quite figured out how to convincingly cover in material robust and flexible enough that it could deal with Penny's full range of motion.

It looked good, though. It reminded everyone of Penny's origins, and yet the little black lines looked wholly in place on her.

"Well, you're almost ready." The burn spread over Ruby's cheeks, a tingle at the bokes beneath her eyes.

Penny tilted her head, then followed Ruby's gaze. "Oh! Yes, of course."

She released Ruby, then crossed her arms at her front, pulling up the hem of her skirt. Lifting it revealed more of her thighs, her tummy, her chest. More seams, more lines.

The dress' removal also gave Ruby access to two important panels across Penny's body. The first a square over her stomach, which Ruby ran her fingers over from corner to corner. She'd need only push it in at the corners then pry it open on magnetic hinges, exposing part of Penny's power core.

Her heart, so to speak. The energy that let her tick. It needed periodic charging but there was a better way to do that than to go through her stomach. The age old idiom didn't quite prove itself true in that instance.

It hadn't come out by mistake, at least. Moving parts proved vulnerable, easy to break or open up without meaning to. They'd both learned that the hard way, and though each mistake proved to be a lesson that Ruby learned from she couldn't help but check, to be certain that nothing had gone wrong in the meantime.

With her hands on Penny's waist, Ruby turned her to the side. Penny lifted one leg onto the table to oblige while she folded up the garment in front of her before setting it down on her lap.

Ruby's fingers found the other panel hidden at Penny's back. This one acted as more of a terminal, something that only came to life when pressed in the right way. A sequence of touches across Penny's shoulder blades could either open the panel up, giving Ruby access to Penny's spinal stack and the chassis beneath for some deep maintenance, or it could be used for so much more.

Commands that needn't be spoken. How to turn Penny off, if necessary.

It seemed necessary, so Ruby started inputting the right sequence to begin a controlled shut down.

"How long will it take?" Penny asked.

"A few hours." Penny's bra got in the way. A small design flaw but one that didn't prove disastrous. She just unfastened it, the straps lurching forward as the tension went slack. Penny's hands raced to her chest and caught it before it slipped too far.

"Are you going to deactivate me?"

"I was about to." The answer didn't seem like enough. Penny struggled to articulate herself some days, to ask the right questions to get at what she wanted or needed. "Do you want me to?"

"No." Quick and earnest. No hesitation. "I want to stay awake for it."

That would complicate things a little, but it wasn't impossible. Penny could distract her, slowing her down or leading to small mistakes here and there. She might also react strangely to the procedure, but Ruby could always dumb things down or just deactivate parts of Penny's chassis.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "It might be easier if you sleep."

"I am sure." Penny nodded, then pulled her bar off completely and set it atop her dress. "I want to see you work. I want to see what you do to me."

Chuckling, Ruby shifted her fingers, tapping out a different sequence. Cancelling the shutdown, allowing access via the at the back of Penny's head. Her hair covered it, hiding it well, but Ruby parted it to expose the wide, circular baseplate beneath. A polished chrome finish that glistened through her locks. "Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"What?" Penny's head jerked around, but Ruby curled her hand around to cup the back of it. "I always trust you, Ruby. I did not mean to imply—"

Ruby's other hand tugged on Penny's jaw, and she kissed the corner of her mouth. "That was a joke, Penny. I know you trust me."

"Oh." Penny blinked, eyes as green as spring grass staring into Ruby's. If Ruby didn't know any better she'd swear Penny was blushing right at that moment. Impossible, given the skin across her face had none of the functionality to allow it.

And yet Ruby saw it anyway.

After patting Penny's jaw, Ruby adjusted Penny's posture, pulling her fully onto the table. With a little hop she grasped one of the cables above and pulled it down, a ratcheting sound echoing off the walls. The cable ended in something that looked like a claw that ended in five distinct needles, a fat one in the centre.

Penny jerked when Ruby inserted it into the back of her head. A twitch, freckled shoulders rising to her ears, an arch to her back. She relaxed again after a few moments.

"Lay back for me," Ruby said, her hands holding onto Penny's shoulders. She helped pull her along until her head found a small cradle at the edge of the table with room for the claw and cable.

She stared down at Penny, and Penny stared up. All quiet except for Ruby's breathing and the faint hum of powerful electronics.

Naked, laid back, Penny was beautiful.

~~~~

Wind blew through the trees, stirring branches carrying early blossoms. In a few weeks they'd bloom, opening up to the world before the bright pink and peach petals fell and fluttered off with the breeze.

Penny and Ruby walked side by side, hand in hand. The green dress fluttered with Penny's every step, while Ruby slipped her free hand into a pair of denim shorts.

After months of cold and weeks of rain, the first sunny and arguably warm day of the year had come. Others took advantage of the March weather, dressed similarly to the two of them. Chatting, laughing.

Ruby only had eyes for Penny while Penny had eyes for everything else.

She didn't take it personally.

Always curious, Penny wanted to examine everything, question everything. Some might call it nosy but Ruby called it wonder. An endearing quality of someone that wanted to know all that life had to offer.

A flock of ducks quacked and swam across the surface of a lake to their left. Some lurked around the reeds at the far side while overs dared to linger closer to the nearer edge, eyeing the people sat at the water's edge with bread and feed. The largest formed quite the congregation around a couple stood side by side, another two girls.

"Should we go feed the ducks?" Ruby asked.

"Hm?" Penny's head twitched, and she half-turned to Ruby. "Feed the ducks?" she echoed.

On cue, several mallards started quacking and fluttering, drawing Penny's attention back to the lake. She made an excited, surprised sound, her cold fingers tightening around Ruby's. "Oh! Yes, I suppose we can." She laughed, albeit without raising her hand to her lips as she often did. It sounded forced, muted, uncertain.

Altogether not quite like Penny should do.

"Maybe we can find some feed for them. I think the kiosk up ahead sells bags." Ruby tried to pick up her pace, pull Penny along. She resisted as expected, but for longer than anticipated. The two of them stumbled at different speeds, both squeaking a little in surprise.

Ruby caught herself by reaching for Penny's other hand with her spare.

"Sorry, Ruby." Penny laughed the little fake laugh again.

Something bugged her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ruby asked. A silly pun, groan worthy under other situations. Between them, though, it meant a little more. 'Talk to me. I'm here for you.'

Penny thinned her lips, her eyes refusing to look into Ruby's. She looked over to the lake again.

The ducks didn't bother her. Perhaps an attempt at distract herself, though that would be atypical for Penny.

"Am I enough?" Penny asked.

The question took Ruby by surprise. She tilted her head in response. "What?"

"Am I enough for you, Ruby?" Penny repeated.

"Of course you are." Ruby squeezed Penny's hands tight, pulling them up to her chest. "You're more than enough for me. Where is this coming from?"

Penny pointed with her chin. A gesture made out of convenience, not derision as some might think. Another glance over, and Ruby figured out where Penny's gaze really fell.

The couple standing side by side. Their foreheads pressed together, noses squished in. One of them had a vibrant shock of red hair that fell all the way down her back, brave enough to wear a tank top and a miniskirt. Her sun-kissed skin had no blemishes, not even freckles on her arms and especially no seams or joins.

There had to be more about the couple that Ruby didn't notice. The girl had a figure more like Yang's, a little wider, taller, bustier.

That seemed far too shallow for Penny.

"I cannot help it when I look at others. I compare myself to them." Penny's arms went slack in Ruby's hands. Not withdrawn, but limp, dejected. "They seem to offer so much more than I can."

"Like emotionally? Physically?" Ruby giggled and brushed her nose over Penny's. "You have more than enough to give in both areas."

Penny shrugged. "Maybe. But I still worry, Ruby."

Biting her cheek, Ruby remained quiet as she thought.

"I could always try and change a few things," Ruby suggested. "I put you together. I can change things to make you feel happier, more comfortable." Her hands pressed Penny's together, all twenty entangled with a little pressure. "Would you like that?"

"Would you not?"

Ruby giggled. "I love you either way. You don't have to change yourself for me, but if it is what you want…" She let the rest of the statement linger, unspoken, so she could smile

~~~~

Penny lay on her back, her eyes closed.

She never slept. She never needed to, after all. The closest she ever came were the times she shut down or when she relaxed so fully, so completely, that she appeared dead to the world.

Not needing to breathe made her look close to a corpse, but she still had the colour of someone living, and all Ruby needed to do to reassure herself that everything was okay would be to call out to her darling girlfriend.

Ruby's hands remained around Penny's cheeks for a few moments more, thumbs brushing over them. A sculpture given life, Penny had changed in lots of little ways already. Nothing big, nothing grand, but she was unrecognisable to the old her that first awoke on the table years ago.

Ruby circled around Penny. Her hands trailed over her shoulder, to her bare arm. A finger nail jumped over the seams, stark black lines between vibrant pink. She followed one of the longer seams down past the elbow, down past the forearm and wrist and over the back of Penny's palm.

She had the replacement parts for almost every inch of Penny's body. Not just the bits Penny had picked out to upgrade but every arm and leg, entire facial features.

Ruby didn't like looking through them. Backups, redundancies in case Penny was damaged or broken. No one wanted to root through a box of their lovers' eyes.

She glanced over to the computer on the far side of the room. Data lines and points filled the screens, a few of the more important values blown up to be readable from where Ruby stood. Heat. Processing power. A stress signal, an amalgamated value calculated from a variety of subroutines that made up Penny's personality.

That one lay as a flat line higher than Ruby liked, but not alarmingly so. It'd be worthless on its own, anyway. It served as a reminder, telling Ruby to talk to Penny, keep her calm and collected as best she could.

Ruby reached up to the carousel and pulled on a few of the dangling contraptions and tools. A welding and cutting rig, a strop with loops meant for holding screwdrivers. She even pulled down a welding mask from up high, even if it was a bit over the top. Better to be safe and avoid the eye damage and burns from errant specks.

Once done, she squeezed the back of Penny's palm, then took the dress from her lap. She carried it over to a far edge of the room, laying it down on another table. The source of parts she needed whenever she fond a worn down joint or nut or a sticky hinge. The source of spare hands and tongues.

All custom made, modified from mannequins and measurements Ruby found online then tweaked to suit her desires and needs. They were made of different materials, of course, a variety dependent on the different parts they represented.

Hands and fingers were hard ceramic, built to resist shock and heat. Its why they tended to be cold, they sapped it away, radiated it out elsewhere. Penny's coolness meant she was healthy, operating as she should.

Legs, upper arms, and little pieces of torsos. They were made of something softer. Layers of silicone and gel built for similar purposes, but with some added flexibility and give. Things that were meant to bend with Penny as she leaned over or twisted, or naturally squished in under Ruby's touch.

A trolley had been prepared for the past few days. Covered with a tarp, it looked a little macabre to Ruby, especially given what lay beneath. She pulled it toward the table, toward Penny, the wheels rattling across the floor. She'd taken it from another workshop that would have rather thrown it out, deeming it as not fit for purpose.

Ruby found purpose in it, though.

It did what it needed to. It carried things, held them for Ruby, let her roll them around where she needed them most in her workshop.

She giggled, something short and bright.

Imperfect, but perfect for her. No need to improve it if it didn't ask for it, though she'd repair it when she needed.

Penny opened an eye, her head turned slightly. "Ruby?"

"It's nothing," Ruby responded. "Just finding life a little amusing."

"How so?"

Pulling the trolley up, Ruby let it bump the table and roll away a few inches. That made Penny jolt, and for the briefest moment a spike manifest on the stress monitor. Just a little blip, a little surprise.

"It keeps reminding me how perfect you are."

~~~~

Ruby wasn't exactly one to go clothes shopping, at least most of the time. She tended to wear the same things over and over and over. The same black and red hoodies she alternated between whenever they got stained, the same band t-shirts, a few different skirts, jeans, and jean-shorts. Hell, she'd worn the same sneakers for a few years now and could start feeling the texture of the ground through the soles.

That changed a lot once she had Penny around, though. Without an idea of where she got it from, Penny's little obsession with bright clothes and wanting to try on every darn outfit she laid eyes on had a tendency to exhaust Ruby. She never knew when it would end, when her wallet would find itself lighter. A constant war of attrition on Ruby's senses that kept her on her toes.

She did, however, absolutely adore Penny's enthusiasm.

She had a pretty good eye for fashion. Maybe she'd just subsumed colour theory and the science of good clothing better than Ruby could ever hope or care to do.

This time, though, they weren't shopping for new dresses or outfits, or at least that wasn't the primary purpose of their expedition.

They were body shopping. Superfluous upgrades, maybe, but its where Penny wanted to start and so Ruby agreed to it.

Penny considered the mannequin in the window. She'd pushed her brows together and down, her lips scrunched up to the side in a cute little ball. She only lacked the scrunched up, doppled chin, a feature Ruby skipped out on once she learned the mechanics of how that worked. She didn't need to be reminded of that whenever Penny got confused or lost in thought.

As far as Ruby could tell, most mannequins were built off the proportions of super models. That usually meant they were quite skinny and tall, though some stores had a little more variation. This store was one of them, its faux-people carrying a little more paunch to their bodies, a little more tummy and thigh and hip than most.

A little more mature in general, really, and squeezed into a pair of jeans that accentuated the figure. Mid-waist, they stopped a few inches shy of gracing the sharpest part of the abdominal dip, flared out at the wide hips.

"This is sort of what I had in mind," Penny said. Standing and talking was much better than silently sauntering off without an explanation. It meant they were making progress, though Ruby wasn't sure what kind just yet.

"Could you elaborate?" Ruby had a few guesses, but didn't want to voice them. For one, she worried she might put words into Penny's mouth, but moreover she might imply what she wanted Penny to do, taking away her agency, her perfection.

"I am not entirely sure," Penny said. "But it is closer. What models did you base me off?"

Blinking, Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "A few. I kind of just grabbed what I could." She chuckled and shrugged. "I had less money at the time so I didn't have a lot to work with after I sorted out parts and materials."

Penny hummed, then pinched her skirt and looked herself over. She erred on the side of skinny, closer to that super-model look though without as much of the height. Ruby had needed to adjust some of her proportions so she hadn't turned out too leggy or long in the arm, but it worked out well in the end.

"I think I like the butt and hips." She smoothed out her skirt, pinned it close to her own hips.

Ruby imagined Penny's hips widening out, matching the mannequins. How that might hike up her skirt a little, how it'd flutter behind her as she walked.

The urge to cough built up at the back of Ruby's throat, but she fought it hard when a hand dropped in front of her, patting down the front of her jeans. "It could look good on you," Ruby said diplomatically.

Penny nodded. "We can tick that box, then." She lifted her arms, crossing them under her chest.

"Hang on." Ruby stepped into Penny's field of view. "Let's not finalise anything just yet. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Penny's head tilted to one side like a confused puppy. Ruby realised how she sounded, and she didn't like the implied disapproval either.

"I--I mean, do we really want to settle on the first thing you think you like?" Ruby tittered, nervousness tingling at the tips of her fingers. "There's other places we can look, you know. We have an entire shopping mall we can go through."

Glimmering green eyes considered Ruby for a few moments, flickering between them. The pupils never changed, perfect dark pools in large, kind eyes.

"Is there something wrong with this choice?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. And nothing you choose is wrong, I just…" Ruby shook her hands out, trying to dislodge the anxiety as if it were just dirt under her nails. "I just want you to be sure. I want you to be happy with whatever choice you make. I know I'll be happy with whatever choice you make."

A few more moments of staring, of considered thought in a mind Ruby designed yet struggled to comprehend at times. "I think I understand," she said, breaking the silence. "If that is the case, then maybe I should look at a few more of these, and the clothes they are wearing."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ruby said. She realised she sighed it as much as spoke it. "It might be a good idea to buy some new clothes if you settle on this, anyway. I don't think you'll be able to fit the old stuff without, y'know…" Her eyes fell down to Penny's butt. "Showing off."

Penny's head tilted the other way. "You like looking at my butt, though." She let her hands drop to her sides, pinching her skirt and dragging it up a little.

Ruby whined, her cheeks tingling at the bone. "Not in public!" she sapped, her hands pushing Penny's back down, smoothing her skirt out again. "N-not normally, anyway."

Giggling, Penny turned her hands over and grasped Ruby by the wrist. "I think you like the sound of that," she said, dropping her voice low. She actually winked at Ruby, which drew a small whine from the mechanic's throat.

"L-let's go inside and look, dork."

With another giggle Penny dragged Ruby into the store.

The assortment of clothing within had been organised into different sections for different purposes, like all stores were. A section for jeans, a section for tops. Bikinis took up the front-right, slapped into the more traditional skinny super-model types.

Penny gravitated toward the dresses. Something about their comfort and ease of wear appealed to her, making them easy to slip on and remove. Not to mention they had fewer complexities to get pinched by her seams and joints.

That's where she started, though. Eyeing a few of the green, floral options, though she pointed out something cute, black and short that Ruby considered buying.

Were she braver about those sorts of dresses, perhaps. She had her own reasons to prefer skirts that at least reached her knees, or shorts that had good tightness and compression.

Eventually they wandered closer to the back, where things like underwear and accessories and the checkouts lived.

Penny pulled them toward the former. She had less reason to care for things like bras and panties, neither needing the support or some of the coverage. She wore them anyway, at Ruby's insistence, and partly because there were cute ensembles she herself loved wearing.

That's where It stood.

Another mannequin stood out from the rest. Not just because of its brazen choice of clothes, lacy lingerie that might not hide much if it weren't for the lack of colour on its body. Not just because it's body was a glossy black instead of the cream of every other model.

Penny stopped in front of it, stared up at it. The display pedestal made it taller than it seemed, though without it Ruby estimated it was about Penny's height. The featureless face looked over toward the entrance, confident in what it was, what it had to show.

It had the wider hips of those in the window, but also a much bigger rack. It reminded Ruby of her sister, of genes she'd dodged.

In the corner of Ruby's eye, Penny pat down her chest with one hand. She followed the diminutive curve of her own breasts, gently squeezing them in.

Penny wasn't, was she? She didn't need to look like that to appeal to Ruby. She had her heart already, and more besides.

And yet Ruby said nothing as Penny pointed to the glossy, curvaceous model. "That's what I want."

~~~~

Ruby never liked puzzles much as a kid. They felt a little aimless to her, just something to put together and make a pretty picture when one didn't have anything better to do.

Always so unexciting, uninteresting. Who wanted to just fit little shaped pieces together, really? And it always took up so much space. An entire table or the whole floor for the particularly big ones, and the small ones just weren't worth it to put together.

She understood the joy when it came to Penny.

She'd mostly disassembled her, arms and legs removed and attached to specialised claws and hooks that held them up and out of the way. Their removal had raised Penny's stress levels, though to her credit she still remained calm. No spikes, just a higher base line. Ruby could work with that just fine.

The old torso plates had been slapped onto the trolley. Grease marred the soft, gel-like skin where Ruby had pried them apart with her fingers alone.

That left Penny as mostly a skeleton from the shoulder down. Bare chassis, her core exposed. It didn't beat like Ruby's heart, as it had no blood to pump. Layers of wheels slowly whirled around the device in the centre, a gyroscope that conveyed a little extra power while also adding a little to Penny's balance.

Touching it could be dangerous. It spun fast enough that it could bruise at the best of times, the air hissing as it sliced through it like a cloud of knives.

With two hooks holding the latest torso plate up from the top, Ruby had her hands buried in Penny's chest mere inches from the power core. A small slip would cause injury to both of them.

Penny didn't mind, but Ruby felt certain if her vitals were on the screens she'd be maxing out the stress readout.

She had to carefully set up the joins that would allow the plate to slip into place. It had the flexibility at the front to allow Penny to curl her arms inward, a little bend near the bottom for her to bend down.

Ruby had pondered what to do with the added volume at the front. She could have made it useful. The good mark of an engineer and mechanic was that they were wizards when it came to economy of space.

The problem is the extra volume wasn't rigid. She couldn't put tools in there, plus there was the issue of how to access them.

She'd settled for just adding more gel in the end. It had the right firmness, the right weight. That's all that mattered for now. If she wanted to change something, she could later.

For now, she had to make sure the hinges were in place.

A spark from the soldering in launched up, and Ruby froze for a moment as surprise and fear overtook her for just a second.

Penny hummed. "What was that, Ruby?"

"Nothing to worry about." A tremor developed in Ruby's hands. She'd been tense for too long, bent over Penny at an awkward angle. She had to take a breather, relax.

She let the iron power down, raised its armature up so it was out of the way, and then she flipped her welding mask out of the way.

Ruby had grown far too accustomed to wearing it. She felt at home with it over her face, the coveralls protecting her from the random hot flecks she made when she worked on Penny's inners or whatever other project she'd taken up. She barely noticed the sweat beading down her forehead until the air rapidly cooled it, evaporated it.

A drop fell from her nose and onto Penny's cheek.

Penny slightly tilted her head. It was the only motor control she had remaining, at least for the moment. A small bend at the neck that slightly shifted a shoulder up.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

The absurdity of the question coming from Penny made Ruby laugh. She reached up to rub the side of her face but paused before coming into contact, before she smeared grease over her temple and cheek.

"I'm fine, Penny. Really." She used the same hand to wave forward, at the mess of pieces that made up her girlfriend. "It's just a lot of work, and it's taking a little longer than expected. I just need a little break."

Penny nodded. Or at least she tucked her chin down a little in something related to a nod. "How is it looking? Has everything gone well so far?"

"Nothing wrong so far." Ruby found herself bending over more and more, leaning ever closer to Penny's face. She didn't want to stare at the girl's skeleton, a masterpiece though it was. It just pushed the uncanny vibe at the back of Ruby's head to the forefront a little too much with Penny awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Tingly." Penny giggled. Normally one would need a diaphragm for that. "Is that normal?"

"It's not not-normal." Ruby laughed back. "I think that's kind of to be expected. I had some new firmware installed, and there's some new connections I'm in the middle of making. Everything will be tingly for a little bit until you get used to it."

Scrunching up her face, Penny moved her lips from one side of her jaw to the other. "I kind of like it," she said after a moment. "I think I can feel them."

Ruby blinked, her heart fluttering a moment. "Oh? Can you tell me a little more?"

Penny kept her face screwed up. Ruby wondered if Penny would have pinched her chin if she had arms, or experimentally reached for her bosom to try and get a little more information, a little more data.

"They feel heavy."

Ruby snorted. "That's because they are heavy, dork."

That got Penny to stick out her tongue. "The tingles feel more… Well, more the more I focus on them. I think I can feel my nipples, too. What do they feel like to you?"

"Wha…?" Unsure how to answer the question, Ruby gawked at Penny. It wasn't like she actively thought about the smaller parts of her body when they couldn't move.

"I don't really know how to answer that." Ruby snickered. "I guess there's a way we can be sure about it, though."

"How?"

Ruby straightened up and shuffled around the table, facing the torso plate from the other side. Her eyes focused on Penny's face, her flickering fields as they tried to anticipate what was about to come.

One small hand palmed a heavy breast, and Penny gasped.

"Is this where you're feeling everything?" Ruby asked. She A thumb and forefinger squeezed, denting the fake-skin in from either side. She ignored her own tingling in her cheeks and groin, doing her best to ignore the problem of her coveralls growing uncomfortable.

Another gasp, and Penny managed a nod.

There were meant to be tests. A whole checklist of things to go over, special tools to test the conductivity of the nerve-facsimiles under the upper gel layers.

But groping Penny was just so much more fun.

Putting pressure on Penny's tit squished it to the back of the plate, the more rigid section making the mound bulge out around Ruby's palm. A little more force and the plate folded forward until it lay flat over Penny's skeleton and clicked into place beneath her collar.

More emotional depth. Penny had plenty, but this added a little more.

Surprisingly, she managed to keep eye contact with Ruby, even as she kept squeezing and kneading her breast.

"How does that feel?" Ruby pitched her voice down, adding a little natural fry to it.

"G-good," Penny stammered out. "So good."

Chuckling, Ruby leaned down and kissed Penny, tasting another of her groans.

~~~~

Penny sat on the edge of the table once again, her legs mechanically swinging off the edge. She'd insisted on putting on the same dress she wore before the procedure, spring green contrasting beautifully with her vibrant red hair.

It was longer. Ruby took the opportunity to swap out the dermal layer over Penny's scalp so her hair reached down to her butt. That was purely Ruby's own indulgence, though she'd change it back in an instant if Penny asked.

Some of the longer locks framing her face fell over her shoulders and down the front of her chest. Where before the dress showed off her collar, the decolletage as Ruby'd seen it called before, her breasts threatened to spill over the top now.

They weren't even that big, to be quite honest, though Ruby was comparing them to certain others in her life that could put even the bustiest of models to shame.

Still, it made the usually innocent and demure Penny appear a little more lewd.

Ruby swore Penny knew what she was doing, with the way she pressed her biceps together to squish her tits forward.

It also no longer reached her knees. All that extra oomph around the bustline hiked it up a little, but the added wide around her waist also stretched the fabric out a little more.

She still passed for modest, even with all of that. Hot as hell, but cute and innocent all at the same time. Hotter still, in fact, with the dress on than when she was naked on the table.

Ruby sighed heavily from the computer desk. She used the surface to lean back, her hands bracing herself against it while she pressed one foot to the floor. She'd spent a while staring at Penny, admiring her beauty. Both unchanged and entirely different.

It was the grin, mostly. Probably. She couldn't recall seeing Penny so ecstatic.

"So," Ruby started. "Are you happy with how you've turned out?"

Penny nodded, then bit her lip as she looked down at her boobs again. Ruby did the same, a pang of jealousy tugging at her heart.

Mostly she was just curious what it was like to see a mile of one's own cleavage. She was fine being as small as she was.

"Good," Ruby said. "Most people need to win the genetic lottery or pay more than I did to look the way you do right now."

"That sounds inconvenient." Snickering, Penny slipped off the table, extended toes bracing her impact with the floor. She still bounced plenty, and something flexed in Ruby's gut.

While Penny had got dressed, Ruby had slipped into the little black dress they'd found the other day. It snugly fit her, conforming to her slim frame.

She'd sorely underestimated how short its skirt was. It left her thighs totally exposed, and if she wasn't careful then Penny would get an eyeful of Ruby's excitement.

And so Ruby didn't care to be careful. Let Penny look. She deserved to know what she was doing to her poor, organic girlfriend.

With her hands clasped behind her back, Penny sauntered closer to Ruby. Slow, steady steps, one bare foot directly in front of the other. The hard ceramic clicked off the floor.

"And you?" Penny asked. "Are you happy with it?"

"Yes." The answer came easy. She loved Penny anyway, with her upgrades or without. The only difference, the only one that was important, was that Penny felt happier, more comfortable in her own body.

And if it helped assure her everything between them was okay, Ruby would say it over and over and over again.

"You are perfect. You were before, and you are now." Ruby pushed herself off the table. She still wore her boots. An errant nail or screw would turn into a nightmare for her, and just a mild inconvenience for Penny.

The two came together. Ruby lay one hand on Penny's shoulder while the other curled around her hip, laying on the upper curve of her butt.

Penny, in an uncharacteristic moment of pure cheek, slipped a hand between Ruby's thighs and cupped her groin.

Ruby rose on her toes in response, a gasp on her lips and a blush across her cheeks. Her excitement lay in Penny's hands, her heart thundering through it. She wondered if Penny could feel that little detail, know what her touch did to Ruby as it ever so slightly twitched and shifted against the most sensitive parts of her body.

"You like this, though." Penny beamed, then squeezed Ruby a little tighter.

Ruby groaned, her own fingers digging into Penny's butt. With some small tugs she bunched up the fabric until her fingertips grasped the bare cleft before the thigh. "You okay with me taking you for a little, ah… test drive?"

Penny nodded, and the two giggled in unison as they closed together in one more perfect kiss.

[13th-dragon-prince]

Musesofawolf--[Prior]

"Careful, Whillow." His warning was half warning, half continue, the soldier shifting his hand so he held more Whillow's neck than chin. "I can feel every move you're making." That growling tone to his voice didn't go away as he held his gaze, tilting his head down to press his lips softly to Whill's forehead. "Control is something learned, trained, and mastered. You are straining that control, little dragon." His hand slid down to his collar bone, brushing over soft scales as he took a step, bringing them both out of their hiding place, still not pulling away as he murmured, "And when that control snaps..." He would let the gecko wonder, his hands slipping away, stepping around Whill as he made for the entrance with heavy footfall. "Let's go. I don't want to become a meal today."

Warm hands against delicate scales. Burning mirrors of deeper intent. Rumbled thunder drowned in unspoken appetite. A tight grip, threatening, warning, promising. Gentle lips pressed flush with affection to the crown. Breathing catches, muscles tighten, feelings spin-

The Core within his breast swirled with the tempo of those words, a rhythm both quick and slow as the heat behind was removed to slip away, moving ahead with the ghost of warmth still clinging to his tail, his hands, his body-

A pause as thoughts churned, dark almonds creasing to crescents as a smile crept high on hidden features as the young fool watched the hunter begin to leave.

Bryn had not given Warning.

He had given Confirmation.

Teasing play was par for the course for the gecko, for shame of the body was not even a categorical understanding in his heart; but now, the flicking tip of the dexterous tail tapped against the ground with a pitter-pat pitter-pat.

A new game to play had indeed been given.

Taking a deep breath, Whillow’s hands rose to run through his hair (pausing for a moment to feel the fading feeling of the lips against his forehead. A mortal notion. But welcomed.) and gently gripped his horns as one would wetted cloth, squeezing with a shiver and pulling up - shaking his claws away as if the throw away the sensations that still reverberated across his spine from that rumbled declaration.

Taloned feet picked up pace to chase after his companion, slender fingers once more clasped behind his back at the hem of his tail, and upon reaching his playmate, those horns were once more pressed to his back for a gentle headbutt before rounding to walk at his side, as any well-behaved accompaniment.

At first he didn’t say anything, humming a wordless tune to himself as he gave his toy friend a few moments to ease the look in his eyes. Whillow now knew the buttons had rewards, he wouldn’t waste them so easily, so it was with a fair bit of that quiet - punctuated only by the sounds of their footfalls of claw and leather, mixed with the clinking clasps of Brynhorn’s impressive rifle - until his staccato spoke up.

“Training Bryn, hrm?” Of course it was on the topic of his earned position of the La’Mellae - but the secondary notion of testing the man’s own mettle in one way or another lingered beneath the words. There was little doubt that the beast would continue to make his life more difficult now that the idea was presented.

After all, to him, the soldier was Homa. For all the bravado one may give in lulling promises, it was rare for the bluff to be called when it came to the beast. Too dangerous for most, too unruly for others, far too alien for all.

So consequence was a myth in his mind, pushing only to make his companion’s brow furrow in that delicious way, those silver pools threatening with the unspoken and leashed. Control so finely tuned it would take more than his idle prodding to break.

“Any-Thing Bryn says, Whillow will do.” He side eyed the other for a moment, fully knowing the notion of the tone, before shifting his expression to an innocent smile. “Earned Command! Rules of Hunt.”

[1980ssunflower]

*thinks about them* 😔💖💖

[orange-coloredsky-archive]

hrm hem hum . dima and nick and 4's weird copaganda and nick's entire companion quest revolving around revenge as closure and for the "greater good" of getting rid of a criminal who was just sitting there being shown as a success and dima's secret being he killed someone for the "greater good" but being vilified and or executed in the street for it hrm. hm

[scaryscarecrows]

Jonathan wakes up with the heavy, floaty, disconcerting feeling that says he’s on some very good painkillers. He is aware of his limbs in an abstract way, and turning his head makes his thoughts blur. Don’t move. Assess.

His left leg and right arm both have that hum that says they’ll hurt like hell when the medicine wears off, and his right side feels too numb to be anything but injured. Several ribs grind when he takes an experimental deep breath and he can just feel stitches on his face. There’s also a warm spot by his left side.

He very vaguely recalls dragging himself out of the sewers through a small drain and heaving himself onto a floating box labeled Titan, but after that is a blank, barring dreamlike flashes. Kitty. A man he thought he recognized, but only just. Cold, very, very cold.

Where is he?

Peeling his eyes open reveals a blurry, generic ceiling. Hotel, then. Further investigation says that his leg is in a cast and his arm, the one Croc had nearly ripped off when he was thrashing around from that damn shock collar, is still attached and bound up. Moving it sounds like a bad idea and he decides to thank whatever lucky stars he has and just ignore it. His left arm appears to be fine, which means he can feel around and see what else is broken…ah. His side is bulging with bandages. He vaguely recalls a bite, but with everything else, it had been forgotten about.

In short, he’s lucky to be alive.

The warm spot is Kitty. She’s in a chair by his bed, slumped over the side with her head pillowed on her arms and one hand gripping the hem of his shirt. She’s a little blurry, because his glasses are nowhere to be found, but he can see her well enough to register that she’s sallow, her face is half taken over by dark circles, and her hair is…well…it’s a cross between a rat’s nest and a black widow’s web.

How long has it been?

It doesn’t really matter, he decides. What does matter is that Kitty’s hair is sticking up every which way and she will not like it when she wakes up. Fortunately, it’s usually easy enough to just…sort of…pat it down.

All right, so he’s a little uncoordinated from whatever he’s on, and he ends up smashing his palm against the top of her head, but her hair is now flatter so really, his goal has been achieved.

Unfortunately, he’s also woken her up by accident: her face scrunches up and her fingers flex around his shirt before she pulls herself upright, blinking heavily.

“Wha…?” More blinking. “Jon’than?”

His intention is to ask what day is it, or maybe where are we. What comes out is, “Hng.”

Ha. He almost sounded like Batman, there.

“You awake, love?”

He can do this.

“Yes.” There! See? “Where.”

Well, it’s a step.

“Outside of Gotham,” she says softly, peeling her fingers off his shirt to brush them against his forehead instead. “It’s…been a bit.” Well. That sounds ominous. “How are you feeling?”

“Drugs,” he manages, because that’s easier to say than, high as a fucking kite, Kitty, what the hell did you give me? She gives him a sympathetic smile.

“You. Croc did. A lot.” Her fingers move to his hair, combing out a few tangles. “It’s been a couple of weeks.”

Weeks?

Weeks?

“Coma?”

“No, no, you’ve…you’ve been awake a bit.” She shrugs. “It’s just been a bit…touch and go, that’s all.”

Ah. That’s less bad, then.

He decides that taking a moment to think about this is a good choice and that also, wow, he needs to shave. He feels stubble. Too much stubble. Bordering on a beard. He hates this and it’s going to have to come off.

Kitty slumps down so her head is near his ribs again. He should try to stay awake, he supposes, but he’s comfortable enough for the moment.

“G’night, Kitty.”

“Hrm.”

[bittybattybunny]

what on earth could this be...?

“Mommmmmmm!” Hattie laughed as she was effortlessly lifted and held onto her mother’s hip as she moved to pick the living room up.

“Honestly! Are you a slob like Shade?” Eclipse snickered as she gently tossed the girl onto the couch. The cat meowed at its perch being disturbed.

“Aw Emps is crabby.” Hattie held onto the elderly cat that huffed and curled up on her lap.

“She’s just like that.” Eclipse hummed as she worked on stacking the books to the point they almost hit the ceiling, “hrm. I think we need a shelf. I hadn’t realized how many books he’s collected in a few months.” She gave a sigh as she set them on the vanity and looked at her reflection. She groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Hattie asked.

“Craft wants me to wear my hair long for the festival.” she admitted, “But it’s so annoying.”

“Ahhh can you do the magic trick?!” Hattie grinned, “Wait… mom is it ACTUALLY magic?”

Eclipse paled and scratched her cheek, “...yes.”

“What?! You said it wasn’t real!!” Hattie fumed as she got up, “mom!”

Eclipse sighed and knelt down. She poked her daughter’s nose, “that’s because it’s dangerous. Mom doesn’t like magic. At all.” she grimaced as she thought about the matter, hand to her neck on reflex. “You know in your cartoons, the saintess and priestess who have a duty?”

Hattie’s eyes sparkled, “Mom--!”

Eclipse nodded, “you know how mom has to go out at night during festivals?”

Hattie gave an excited nod.

“Mom does a thing called ‘The Grim’s Rite’.” she explained, not hearing the sliding door as Shade walked in.

“Grim’s rite?” Hattie asked.

Eclipse nodded, “During the winter solstice, the spring equinox, the summer solstice, and the fall equinox, mom will perform a dance to honor those who have passed on. I need a little magic to do so.” she gave a gentle smile, “it’s a bit rough to do, I have to go barefoot even if it’s cold, and I have to dance from midnight until morning without much break.”

“Ohhh! That’s why you sleep in on Moon day!”

“Grim’s rite?”

Eclipse fell backwards on her butt when Shade spoke. Water dripped from his long hair as he stared at her with a childlike curiosity.

She turned bright red and averted her gaze. She felt him staring and peeked. He was closer and she squeaked as she frowned.

“I-it’s a tradition for my bloodline… I-I have to perform a special ceremony.” she stammered, unable to meet his gaze.

Hattie grinned, “Can I---”

Eclipse frowned, “no.”

Hattie’s face fell, the hurt was clear as she gripped the hem of her tshirt.

“It’s…. I want this to die with me…” Eclipse was quiet. She moved to sit properly on the floor and pulled her daughter into her lap. She kissed her cheek, “I’m forced to do it. It’s not fun. I get bloody feet by morning.”

“Ah!” Hattie looked at her mom with worry, “then--”

“But I have to do it.” Eclipse put a hand to her chest, “Because it’s tied to this cursed blood coursing through my body.”

Hattie furrowed her brow, “Can’t we do anything, mom?”

Eclipse shook her head, “No… sadly this is just something mom will do, but… I think this coming spring will be the last time I dance.” She had a quiet tone.

Shade was quiet and knelt down. His eyes stared at the wolf who was combing through the girl’s hair with her fingers. He reached a hand out. Tentatively at first. But taking a deep breath he placed it on the woman’s cheek. She looked at him and stared as he looked at her.

“When do you dance it next?” he asked, “So I can have bandages and a warm drink ready in the morning?” he gave a grin, his fangs sticking out ever so slightly, “if you say the spring is your last, then I’ll make these last two a little more bearable, right?”

She felt her heart racing and looked away ashamed as he snickered.

“It’s… next month. It’s normally the night right before the Moon Festival.” she explained.

“Oh! Sena’s birthday!” Hattie grinned, “I need to make a gift for him still. I found some pretty gloves when I bought your birthday present!” She giggled and got up to go get them. She held the white lace gloves to her mom, “Sena will like these right?”

“He will! Those will hide his scars well!” Eclipse grinned, “He’ll be over… the moon. Jumping for joy!” she snickered as she thought of the demon.

Shade tilted his head unaware of her joke but sighed. He reached to help her stand and patted the top of her head.

“So. a priestess huh?” he asked as he went to find a shirt to put on, “I can’t see it. All the ones I knew were---”

“If you call me fat I’m going to throw you off the dock!” Eclipse warned as he turned red and tried to find a shirt that wasn’t scratchy.

“I was going to say ‘breakable’.” he admitted, “Most of the empire’s priestesses I knew seemed like a breeze would snap them.”

“Well I mean I’m not technically a priestess.” she shrugged, “I just have this rite I do. I mean I have a few other little perks.” She looked at her daughter who’s eyes glistened and she gave a sigh.

[charlestrask]

okay i have NOT even gotten halfway into this book so i dont actually know whats happening yet but hum. hrm. hem.

"To combat the land a little he thought of his father, of the calm and peace, the strength and eternal rightness of his father, and then in his thought the difference ended and he knew that there was no quarrel, for his father and this new land were one."

"His possessiveness became a passion. 'It's mine,' he chanted. 'Down deep it's mine, right to the center of the world.' He stamped his feet into the soft earth. Then the exultance grew to be a sharp pain of desire that ran through his body in a hot river. He flung himself face downward on the grass and pressed his cheek against the wet stems. His fingers gripped the wet grass and tore it out, and gripped again. His thighs beat heavily on the earth. [...] For a moment the land had been his wife. 'I'll need a wife,' he said. 'It will be too lonely here without a wife.' He was tired. His body ached as though he had lifted a great rock, and the moment of passion had frightened him."

"'[...] Father was delirious. I really should shut up about his words and never tell them, for he was not himself. He talked about the mating of animals. He said the whole earth was a—no, I can't see any reason for saying it. I tried to get him to pray with me, but he was too nearly gone. It has troubled me that his last words were not Christian words. I haven't told the other boys because his last words were to you, as though he talked to you.'"

[ryqoshay]

Happy Life: Dream Warden

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Words: ~3.3k Rating: High T or low M? AU: Angelic? Time Frame: Shortly after Yohane and Riko move in together; 1st and 2nd years in college, respectively. Story Arc: “Nightmares?” Bed Bath and Bewildered Dream Warden

List of all HL scenes

Author’s Note: This ended up being a bit longer than I thought it would be. Not complaining, mind. However, it also took longer to finish than I thought it would and that I will complain about.

“Mornin’ Riri…” Yoshiko yawned, shuffling into the kitchen.

“Mornin’ Yocchan…” Riko replied with the same amount of energy.

Yoshiko paused and Riko could almost feel her scrutinization.

“Nightmares ended up keeping you awake?” The younger girl questioned after a moment.

“Uhm… something like that…” The older girl replied, trying to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. Truth be told, she’d awakened three more times after Yoshiko left and before needing to get up.

But geez, was it that obvious? Sure, Riko wasn’t the most energetic person in the morning, at least not compared to the likes of Kanan who happily went for morning runs of several kilometers. Nonetheless, she was usually mostly functional before breakfast or the first dose of caffeine or whatever. Did she really look that tired?

“Want me to help?” Yoshiko offered, peeking at the breakfast being prepared.

“I’ll be done in a moment.” Riko replied, starting to roll the omelet. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

“Mmm…” Yoshiko moved to the table and took her usual seat. “Perhaps…” The gears turned sluggishly in her sleep-addled mind. “Maybe Yohane can conjure up a few nightmare wards to place around your room?”

“Nightmare what?” Riko brought two plates of food over and sat down.

“Wards. Kinda like dreamcatchers.”

“Dreamcatchers? I’ve seen those before. They’re kind of cute.”

“But instead of ensnaring bad dreams, they repel them entirely. Though to the dreamer, the effect is basically the same.”

“So… why not just use a dreamcatcher?”

“The magics available to a fallen angel are better suited to creating the wards.” Yoshiko explained as though it should be obvious.

“I see.” Riko nodded. “What do they look like?”

“Pretty similar to the glyphs, circles and symbols I use in my rituals since they all draw from the same sources for their power.”

“Hrm…”

“But don’t worry!” Yoshiko suddenly assured. “If Riri is worried about aesthetics, they would be in places that are out of sight.”

“Oh?” Riko wasn’t really that worried about such things; she had been more curious than anything. Also, she could always remove them when guests visited. But she thought it was nice that Yoshiko took such things into consideration.

“They are most effective when placed where the darkest of dreams often dwell. Places like the closet or under the bed.”

“U-under my bed?”

“They won’t have an adverse effect on your collection.” Yoshiko smirked. “Unless Riri wants them to…”

“Hmm…” Riko hummed before taking a bite of her omelet. She thought about the proposal as she chewed. “Alright.” She finally agreed.

“Alright?” The blue-haired girl across the table balked a bit as though not expecting the redhead to agree. “I… I mean of course it’s alright!” She recovered quickly, however. “Yohane is proud to help protect the precious dreams of her favorite little demon!”

Riko smiled. “Thank you, Yocchan.”

“Right here should work.” Yoshiko said, adhering the dream ward to the back of Riko’s closet door. “Did you find a good place for that one?” She turned to see her roommate laying prone with head and shoulders under the bed. “The closer you can get it to the where your head will be, the better.” She explained.

“I… think… I got it…” Riko’s voice was muffled from her position.

Yoshiko couldn’t help a slight chuckle as she watched the other girl shuffle back out. She would have preferred to be the one to place the ward, but at the same time, she knew how Riko continued to act as though her doujin collection was some sort of secret.

“Then that’s that.” Yoshiko nodded before yawning. “Off to bed for this fallen angel…”

“Sleep well, Yocchan.”

“You as well, Riri. I hope you have nothing but good dreams tonight.”

Riko smiled in reply.

Yoshiko sighed as she closed the door behind her and headed for her own room. Despite knowing that the dream wards were nothing more than paper with some symbols scrawled upon them, she honestly hoped that they might provide some piece of mind to her roommate. It was the least she could do, and she knew she had to do something.

While there was little doubt that Riko had nightmares in the past – who hasn’t? – Yoshiko believed this one to be different, not just because Riko had called out to her, but also by how much it seemed to have affected her. And if Riko’s morning lethargy hadn’t been proof enough of the effects, the fact that she hadn’t tried to grapple Yoshiko for commenting on the doujin had solidified Yoshiko’s resolve.

“Sleep well, Riri…” Yoshiko murmured to herself as she climbed into bed.

Riko’s eyes snapped open.

Another one.

Yocchan...

Similar sensations shifted.

The fact that Yoshiko wasn’t knocking on the door possibly meant she hadn’t called out this time. Or at least didn’t call loud enough for the other girl to hear.

Riko sighed and slipped out of bed so she could get a towel to wipe off the sweat. If this was going to become a regular thing, perhaps keeping one on her nightstand wouldn’t be that bad of an idea. With that thought in mind, she grabbed a second one and returned to bed.

So, the wards hadn’t worked. Of course, Riko hadn’t really expected them to work. Well, at least not in the way Yoshiko had described. First off, Riko suspected the dreams were not nightmares in the first place, thus making wards against them worthless from the start. However, she had also hoped that taking solace in her friend’s honest concern would be enough to calm her mind. Apparently not.

Once again, Riko did her best to ignore the demands for satiation and tried to fall back asleep.

“The wards didn’t work, huh?”

Riko jumped a little, not expecting her roommate to be awake already. She was actually on her way to the bathroom to get a better look at the dark spots under her eyes and try to conceal them. But Yoshiko had met her in the hallway and found out anyway.

“Seems that way…” Riko replied, trying not to yawn. Her dreams had awakened her four more times before her alarm went off and she had to drag herself out of bed. She also found herself unsure if she should give voice to her suspicions that the dreams were actually good, just of a… sensual nature.

“Hrm…” Yoshiko thought for a moment. “Perhaps Yohane should stand guard herself and personally fend off the nightmares…”

“Huh…?” Riko’s sleep-deprived mind found itself slow to process the idea. “You’re… going to… stand in my room all night?”

“No, silly Riri.” Yoshiko chuckled and shook her head. “I’ll move the guest futon to your bedroom and use that. Even while sleeping, the presence of one such as Yohane is sure to ward off any encroaching nightmares.”

“Not attract them?” Riko couldn’t help asking.

Yoshiko paused for a moment before answering. “Surely, they’d be more likely to try to torment a fallen angel than a mere mortal, right?”

“You might have a point there.” Riko allowed.

She then remembered the various sleepovers she had with her friends, and how, with rare exception, she had always slept well. Perhaps having familiar people around really could help, but not just in the next room over, rather pretty much within arm’s reach. It certainly couldn’t make things worse… could it?

“Alright.” She agreed after a moment.

Yoshiko smiled. “You go ahead and take the bathroom so you can get ready. I’ll go make breakfast.”

“You don’t…”

“Yohane insists.” The fallen angel made her signature gesture. “Helping my little demons when they are cursed with insomnia is a duty I am proud to perform.”

“Alright, alright.” Riko laughed lightly as she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. “I’ll be out in a bit.”

A sleepover with Riri!

Yoshiko couldn’t help humming happily as she picked up the futon and moved it to Riko’s bedroom. She then went to her room to get her own blanket and pillow instead of the guest ones.

As she worked, memories of prior sleepovers ran through her mind. Aqours as a whole had spent many nights at various places together, but Yoshiko had always been most fond of the smaller groups; particularly when they included Riko. Her favorites though, by far, were the nights she had spent at Riko’s house to visit Prelude.

Tonight would be kind of like her favorites, though regrettably without the adorable pug. But as much as Yoshiko wanted to selfishly revel in the idea of sleeping in the same room as Riko again, she knew it wasn’t just about her. She wanted Riko to take some comfort in her being there and maybe get a good night’s rest.

“All set?” Riko asked from her bed as she reached for the lamp switch.

“Yohane is ready to descend into the darkest depths of the dreamworld.” Yoshiko replied, making one final adjustment to her pillow.

“Good night, Yocchan.”

“Sleep well, Riri.”

Riko awoke in an unfamiliar position. Her back was arched, her legs tensed and her hands gripped the sheet below her. It was almost as if she had been trying to push into something… or someone above her…

Her stomach felt cold and she realized she had not only shoved her blanket away but her pajama top had also ridden up. What the heck? A soft murmur from somewhere nearby caught her attention so she quickly tugged down the hem, sat up and glanced around the room. It didn’t take long for her gaze to settle on…

Yocchan…

Immediately, Riko felt something contort within her and she took a long, slow breath in an attempt to calm the rising sensations.

That’s right, Yoshiko had offered to be her personal dream warden for the night. Riko found herself wondering if the purported fallen angel had suffered her own bout of nightmares. Perhaps as a child? Perhaps even more recently? Maybe, that was why she was adamant about helping Riko; she knew the disruptions that were caused and didn't want her friend to go through the same things. That felt like something Yoshiko might do, though Riko wasn’t sure how to go about confirming the idea as it seemed rude to ask the reasons behind another's help.

Yoshiko murmured again and tugged her pillow almost out from under her head before hugging it like a teddy bear and nuzzling into it. Cute. Riko smiled as she was now curious if Yoshiko typically slept with one of her many oddly adorable plushies.

As she watched Yoshiko’s slow, rhythmic breathing, RIko couldn’t help starting to wonder what it might be like to see her closer up. How would the other girl react if Riko were to slide under the covers beside her? What might it be like to wake up to such a scene every morning? What might it be like to…

Riko rolled on to her side, away from the girl on the futon. She squeezed her eyes shut and silently begged whatever deity might listen to allow her to rest.

Riko awoke, shivering and gasping for breath.

“Riri…?” a soft voice questioned.

“I’m… fine…” Riko managed to get out. “You can go back to sleep, Yocchan.”

“Mmm…”

Riko’s hand trembled as she reached for a towel on the nightstand. Her muscles ached as though she had just run a kilometer or two.

Though the visuals were blurry, the emotions remained vivid in her mind. There was no way that had been a nightmare. Riko was convinced her mind had just acted out some rather intense scenes of intimacy with…

Yocchan…

She couldn’t deny it any longer; perhaps it had been foolish to even try in the first place. She was definitely dreaming about Yoshiko. Her roommate. Her friend.

But what would Yoshiko feel about this?

Riko had never been clear on the younger girl’s standings with her peers, Hanamaru and Ruby. Or even Leah for that matter. Yoshiko often talked about all three and was always excited to see them, more so it seemed, than others among their mutual friends. Did she like any of them in that way? Had Riko missed something at some point? Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the first time Riko had been oblivious to those kinds of feelings among her friends. She could spot the tropes a mile away in her doujin, but was lacking in her observations of the real world.

She would have to get better in her observations or risk making similar mistakes as she had in the past, or possibly missing out on something wonderful. But how? Who could she talk to? She immediately dismissed her peers along with her juniors. Maybe one of her seniors? Riko rolled onto her side, away from the distracting presence of her roommate and considered her options while awaiting sleep to return.

“Riri.”

Riko’s eyes opened slowly as she felt a hand gently shake her shoulder.

“Riri.” The voice repeated.

Riko groaned and rolled to face the other girl.

“You slept through your alarm.” Yoshiko explained with a concerned expression. “Maybe you should email your professors and skip classes today?”

“I’ll go…”

“Are you sure? One day probably won’t hurt a good student like you.”

“Mmm…”

“Anyway, breakfast is ready if you want it.”

Riko nodded and started to get out of bed.

“Uhm…” Yoshiko fidgeted a bit as she backed up a few steps to allow the other girl room. “There’s one more thing I’d like to try, if you’ll let me.”

Riko smiled. Her roommate’s steadfast devotion to ensuring her wellbeing was quite endearing. “Whatever you think might help.”

“It’s a pretty big ritual.”

“Alright…”

“But I’ll try not to make to much of a mess.”

Riko chuckled.

“There will be candles.”

“Mmm…”

“And incense.”

“That’s fine.”

“Alright then.” Yoshiko nodded, surprisingly solemnly. She then turned to leave. “Bathroom’s yours.” She tossed over her shoulder.

Riko trudged into the apartment, kicked off her shoes, dropped her bag in the entryway and shuffled toward her bedroom. She had barely made it through her first classes and finally decided to take Yoshiko’s advice and skip the few that remained.

Yocchan…

Just laying down on her bed was enough to conjure up remnants of the dreams.

Yocchan…

She glanced at the futon folded in the corner with Yoshiko’s blanket and pillow on top, waiting to possibly be used again tonight.

Yocchan…

Riko closed her eyes.

Yocchan…

She gritted her teeth. She needed to do something. Something. Anything. She needed to satiate…

Yocchan…

She let her hand begin to explore…

“Yocchan!”

“Riri?” A voice called from the entryway. “Are you home?”

“I’m here.” Riko left the restroom, relieved her roommate hadn’t returned earlier. “You’re home early.”

“So are you.” Yoshiko rounded the corner to meet the other girl in the hallway. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” The redhead nodded. “I just ran out of steam and decided to take your advice. I actually just got up from a nap.”

“Did it help?”

“I think so.”

“That’s good.” The blue-haired girl smiled. “Anyway, the professor for my last class is sick and didn’t give his TA a lesson plan for the day, so I decided to get an early start on setting up my ritual.”

“Go ahead.” Riko motioned toward her bedroom. “I’ll get started on making dinner.”

“Sounds good.”

Riko sat on the edge of her bed, watching her roommate. Yoshiko had a feather in her bun and was dressed in her favorite set of pajamas covered by her favorite cape. Smoke rose from a stick of incense on the desk; sandalwood, if Riko remembered correctly. Several candles burned in various positions around the room and a large cloth sheet with a printed ritual circle lay on the floor. Finally, a mug with a cute, smiling demon face on its side and filled with a warm liquid sat waiting on the nightstand.

“The deities of nighttime and dreams can often be clever and conniving.” Yoshiko intoned. “The one we with which we are dealing has masked their presence well. Yohane, a fallen angel who is intimately familiar with the darkest of magics, finds herself unable to detect any amount of corruption or ill intent within these walls. The source of the nightmares that torment her little demon Riri remains unclear.”

Probably because they aren’t nightmares… Riko thought to herself. She took a slow breath, enjoying the earthy and soothing fragrances from the incense.

“Therefore, this ritual shall not be restrained by focusing on nightmares.”

What? Riko started paying closer attention to her roommate’s performance.

“Instead, we shall banish all dreams and disruptions to sleep! Upon completion, only peace and tranquil rest shall remain! Riri!” She called, pointing to the redhead. She then moved her hand to indicate something else. “Consume the elixir of serenity!”

“This?” Riko picked up the mug.

“Indeed. Yohane prepared a special batch of her favorite potion for sleep. Sip of it slowly. Savor its soothing properties as I complete the ritual.”

“Alright.” Riko lifted the drink to her lips and tasted it. There was no denying the main ingredient to this potion, or rather tea, was chamomile, which was fine because it was a flavor she enjoyed. There were other subtler flavors that Riko didn’t readily recognize but assumed were similar herbs believed to be helpful sleep aids.

Yoshiko began to murmur in a language Riko did not understand, though she was pretty sure she recognized the name of one or two deities. Many of her phrases were accompanied by hand gestures and dramatic movements.

Riko tipped the mug up to drain the last drops.

“And with that, the ritual is complete!” Yoshiko posed.

“That was delicious.” Riko said as she returned the mug to the nightstand. “What was in it? I mean I know the chamomile and milk, but…”

“Yohane does not normally reveal the secret recipes of her concoctions, but she can make an exception for her most elite little demon. It is infused with valerian root, jasmine and a hint of lemon balm.”

Riko wasn’t familiar with some of those items. “Well, it was delicious.”

“’Tis my greatest hope that it allows you a good night’s slumber.”

“I’m sure it will.” Riko smiled gently. “Thank you, Yocchan.”

Yoshiko returned a toothy grin of her own.

“Shall we turn in?”

“Right, let me just set up the futon.”

“Need help?”

“I’m good, thanks.” Yoshiko moved to retrieve the bedding. “Riri can go to sleep.”

“Alright.” Riko slipped under her comforter. However, she didn’t close her eyes right away, instead, she watched the other girl until she was settled as well. “Good night, Yocchan.”

“Good night, Riri.”

“Good morning, Yocchan!” Riko said cheerfully as her roommate shuffled into the kitchen.

“Mornin,’ Riri…” Yoshiko responded before yawning. “So… it would seem… the ritual worked?”

“I believe so.” Riko confirmed, moving the food around in the pan as she cooked.

Yoshiko breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”

“Mmm.”

“Well, if you need me to perform it again tonight…”

“I think I’ll be good for a while, thanks.”

“Oh, alright.”

Riko thought she detected just a hint of disappointment in Yoshiko’s voice.

“But, I might request another batch of your wonderful sleep potion.”

“The elixir of serenity?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“I can do that.”

Riko smiled at the obvious excitement. Even if it had all been a big show, she appreciated the amount of effort Yoshiko had put in to helping her the last few nights. And she had helped, more than she probably realized and almost certainly not in the way she believed.

As soon as Riko brought over the food and took a seat, Yoshiko started talking about something going on in her drama class to which she was looking forward. Riko smiled as the first normal breakfast of the week began.

Author’s Note Continued: I realized while writing this that I put its intended previous chapter, Bed Bath and Bewildered, too soon in the existing timeline. As such I will be moving it once I post this chapter.

Perhaps worth noting that I do not wish to make it seem like external, supernatural forces are the sole reason Riko ends up falling for Yohane. I would like to get around to writing more scenes about some of the more natural attractions that develop between the two, preferably from both perspectives. However, as with much of what I want to write, I am still awaiting the release of the movie to finalize certain details.

[foxgcd]

Certainly no complaints came in return, the apparition merely hummed again, return the nibble to his lip with a few of his own. Calloussed hands also gripping Kurama's skin beneath his shirt, pushing himself to partially lay stop him. "Hrm, is that all you can muster to do?"

   ❛ Is there something more you want? ❜ he replies, parting just long enough to look into Hiei’s eyes, half-lidded, watching in anticipation despite it being his move. Fingers untangle themselves from Hiei’s hair, tracing down his spine, fingers just playing with the hem of his pants, before moving on, giving Hiei’s ass a small squeeze, light kisses planting themselves upon Hiei’s cheek. ❛ Who would think that your mind would be in such a place? ❜