Beth Cassidy wants to dance with the devil. (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} above_all) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} valarlogs,@ 2012-11-23 02:13:00 |
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Who: Beth and Alma with a little bit of Shepard.
What: Date night!
When: Backdated to Wednesday night.
Where: The movies and Beth's.
Rating: PG-13 for not graphic sex talk.
Status: Complete!
It had taken some negotiation, but Alma had secured permission to go out with Beth. The cheerleader had thus far been very good at getting Alma home in good time and otherwise put on a good face for the former marine. It didn’t hurt that despite Beth’s more wild side, she was genuine. Besides, Shepard had been pretty bad that age herself.
Of course part of the negotiation had Shepard waiting in the living room for Beth to show up. She was cleaning her guns. For show.
Beth had arrived in jeans and a t-shirt, not wearing her cheer uniform in front of Beth’s guardian for a change. Her blonde hair was in wavy ringlets down her back as she rang the bell as she’d been instructed. She couldn’t help but bounce a little, excited to see Alma.
Shepard opened the door. She was dressed in jeans and a white tank top, her Marine Corps tattoo displayed prominently on her right shoulder. She flashed the girl a grin. "Come on in. Alma will be down in a bit. It'll give us a chance to talk."
Oh, boy. The intimidation talk. Beth had slept with enough Marines where she wasn’t really scared of them anymore. She smiled right back at Shepard, walking with her to go sit down across from her. “Oh, what guns are those? It’s really brave what you did for the country. My father’s always lied to people and said he served, but we all know better.”
"Proud to have served. Can't say I left on as good of terms as I would have liked, but that's neither here nor there." Shepard sat down, leaning back and crossing her legs. "You've given Alma quite a swagger. That girl can be a handful. She was really sheltered, and has some really terrible history. You prepared for that? "
“Don’t we all have terrible history?” Beth folded her legs underneath her, shrugging her shoulders. “My parents ignore me and I used to cut. I know Alma’s is worse - way worse - she said murder and she’d had kids and honestly, I don’t care. She’s a handful, but so am I. You’re worried I’m going to hurt her. I’m not. I’m going to help keep her safe.”
"How much has she really told you?" Shepard asked, seeming surprised. She wanted to let Alma be the one to share it, but it seemed like she'd revealed a lot already. At least the kids part.
Murder could mean a lot of things, but Shepard was pretty sure Alma hadn't gone into detail. "I won't elaborate, that's for her to talk about, but there's some serious trauma. She doesn't believe she's a good person. Wrex has had an uphill battle trying to help her understand she is one. We can get on board trying to keep her safe, but it’s not a walk in the park.”
“Not a lot of specifics, but enough where I don’t want to know a lot of specifics.” Beth winced a bit, shaking her head and looking at her hands. She didn’t want to think of Alma hurting. It made her hurt in turn.
“She is a good person. I try to show her that every time I’m with her.” Beth would fiercely defend that notion to anyone who opposed it, including Alma herself.
That put Beth up a few notches in Shepard's book, but Zevran had expressed some if the few sentiments. His idea of making Alma feel better she hadn't exactly agreed with. At least at her age.
"Certain Hormones are pretty new to her. She was taking a suppressant up until about six months ago to keep her from getting distracted. " There was a clear warning in her tone. Alma deserved more than to be a sexual conquest. Or to have just sexual healing.
“I’m interested in her sexually, of course. That’s part of romantic interest,” Beth smiled, trying to keep the ‘well duh’ out of her tone. “But if she wasn’t smart, if she wasn’t funny, if she wasn’t her, I wouldn’t be interested. I like doing things with her, but because she’s her, and because I want to talk to her too. I’ve also told her that she sets the pace when it comes to things like that. I won’t force her into anything.”
Beth turned her head and swallowed thickly. “Innocence just gets fucked up so fast. It’s like it’s there, and as soon as we know what’s missing on our Barbies, shit just goes right down the drain and everyone stops caring about what we want. Not just what lipstick we want and that vapid stuff, but what we want. But Alma still has that. She still looks at trees and thinks about how fucking magical they are, and - “ Beth trailed off, figuring she was making little sense. She avoided meeting Shepard’s eyes. “She’s lucky. The world may have gotten to her, but it didn’t wreck her.” Sometimes Beth felt like a husk. She didn’t feel alive often, but she did around Alma.
She waved off the sexual comments, a bit. "Letting her set the pace is good. But I don't know if she understands what that entails and what sort of pace she actually needs."
She sat back, crossing her legs. "You're an interesting kid. I'd say you've got an old soul. Reminds me of some people I know. You're right that innocence gets lost. Younger and younger these days. I don't even know how Alma still is so innocent."
Not with those nightmares, anyway...
“She might have seen some things that took some parts of it, but in the way she acts - she’s still innocent. She still expects the best in people. I won’t let that part of her down. She deserves better.” Beth had already gotten a girl kicked off of the JV squad that called Alma a space case. The girl had had it coming, her grades were as shitty as her back tucks.
“I try to keep her steady. And I’m not going to lie, I’ve done some things that you probably wouldn’t approve of, but I don’t want to do those with Alma. It’s funny, usually I like the danger, I want to reach out and feel something different for a change.” But Alma was the something different. Her sweetness sated the part of her that wanted blood.
"That part is precious. And it's gotten her into trouble, and gotten her hurt." Not for the first time, Shepard wished Wrex were here. But he wasn't, so she was going to have to look out for the girl. She ran her fingers through her hair, thinking it was about time to dye it purple again.
Because why not? Besides, that might earn some cool points for Alma.
"Kid, as long as you haven't done anything that might come back and bite her in the ass, I'm not going to be too worried about it."
“Like what?” Beth cocked her head to the side. “I mean, I’ve only known her a few days, it’s not like we’ve gotten arrested yet.” She couldn’t help the playful wink.
"Generally arrested, or pissing off someone enough to come hurt you," Shepard replied. She smirked a bit. "There's shit I've pulled that probably would have gotten me drummed out of the service if it had ever come out while I was still serving."
“Then no, none of that.” Beth grinned, looking down. “Just general teenage shenanigans.” She crossed her legs. “What did you do?”
"Mostly pretty tame. Sex in public, petty theft, alcohol." She'd avoided the drugs - a future career in the marines was too important to her. "Fights. Lots of fights."
“Oh. You and me both.” Beth waved a hand. “That’s all expected on squad.” Cheer actually reminded her of the military; she expected her girls to bleed on a daily basis, and her word was law. “I don’t really steal - no need, and it’s kind of boring, and I usually don’t get into fights because I don’t have to.” People were too scared of her.
"I got into fights because I liked it," she replied. "I liked the adrenaline, and I liked surprising some big guy. Sometimes you have to headbutt a fool to make them respect you."
Maybe not the best advice to give a seventeen-year-old...
“I’m more subtle.” Shepard seemed to be a bit of a battering ram. Beth, she was the sort to seduce the guard into giving up the key and leave him in the brig. “I run a tight ship. It’s all about finding what’s important to the people beneath you and never letting them forget that you know it.” She grinned to herself, remembering how she’d managed to eliminate upstart Ri with one perfectly timed rumor on facebook.
"Oh yes," she replied dryly. "That cut-throat world of cheerleading."
Alma came down the stairs then, giving Shepard a wary look. She was wearing a skirt with stockings and a sheer top over a tight sweater. She hoped Shepard was done interrogating Beth.
Oh, Shepard was, but she wasn't about done with embarrassing Alma. "Did you pack the dental dams?"
Alma stared blankly at Shepard. "..what?"
“You’d be surprised,” Beth smirked. She smiled when she saw Alma, but couldn’t help trying to turn the embarrassment around. “Don’t worry, Ms. Shepard, I always carry a few on me. Strawberry.”
That only made Alma blush even more deeply.
Shepard laughed. "That's a good flavor. I might not have to shoot you after all."
“You want one?” Beth fished through her purse, handing one over. “If I can’t stop my crew from being stupid, at least I can make ‘em be safe.”
"Beth!" Alma exclaimed, rushing over and taking Beth's hand. She started to drag her towards the door, Shep's laughter following them.
Beth giggled as Alma dragged her to the door, taking her hand and squeezing it. “When do you want her home, Ms. Shepard?” Beth was nothing if not punctual.
“Eleven,” She managed to spit out between laughing!
Beth gave Shepard a salute, having been taught by a Marine herself before taking Alma’s arm and guiding her to her car.
Alma gripped Beth's arm tightly. She had eavesdropped, of course. Kissing Beth's cheek, she said, "I think that went well. She genuinely likes you. I am not sure she fully trusts you, but she wants to give you the benefit of the doubt."
“Trust is earned, not given. I’ll get there.” Beth turned her head to kiss Alma on the mouth, smiling. “So, are you ready for your first date?” She was excited to do real date type things for the first time in her life too.
Alma closed her eyes, stealing a second, then a third kiss. When she opened them, she giggled, her eyes alight with excitement. "The only date I ever was on was a picnic, and I am not sure if that counts."
“I don’t know, it might.” Beth shrugged. “But this is your first one with me, so I’m partial.” She grinned, lightly bumping Alma’s hip with her own. They got into the car and Beth drove them a little faster than most teenage girls drove to the movie theater.
Alma rested her hand on Beth's leg and rubbed a little. "It is special. I have never been to the movies before." She wasn't sure what they were even seeing, or if she would like it. But if Beth picked it out, she was sure she would!
Beth’s eyes went wide. “Shepard said that you had a shitty past, but damn. What kind of things do you like? There’s some funny stuff out, scary stuff, dramatic stuff, or we could just go to my house, I’ve got way more there. Up to you.”
"I want to see something silly. In the theatre. Or maybe...romantic?" She glanced at Beth, face turning a bit red. "I would really rather in the theatre. Then we could go to your house. I would like to..be comfortable when I talk about my past. You deserve that."
“All right.” Silly and romantic were always in the theaters. They got to Beth’s favorite and she parked the car before reaching out for Alma’s hand so they could stand in line. She pointed out the options, wanting Alma to pick.
Holding Beth's hand as they walked, Alma was aware of people occasionally looking at them. She found it rather interesting, the jumble of emotions she got from those people. Disgust, interest, appreciation, even lust in the case of a couple of boys.
She leaned in closer, as if worried she would lose 'dibs.'
"That one looks interesting," she said, pointing at a sign.
“All right,” Beth grinned, wrapping an arm loosely around Alma’s waist. She didn’t even notice the other people, not really caring what anyone else thought of her. She paid for the tickets when they got to the attendant, grinning when she thought about Alma’s reaction to the concession counter. “Want popcorn?”
"Is popcorn not required for all movies?" Alma asked, glancing at her ..girlfriend. She put her arm around Beth, resting her head on the blonde's shoulders.
“Not required, no. I prefer candy, but I have a sweet tooth.” Beth smiled to herself and kissed the top of Alma’s head. “Whatever you want, we’re good.” She ordered a slush and some Swedish fish for herself.
Alma smiled, nuzzling her head against Beth's cheek. She had some ideas of how they could sate that sweet tooth. Chocolate kisses? She looked at all the candy, and made a face. It all had corn syrup. The soda probably did as well.
She ordered water, and played it a little dangerous, ordering popcorn with butter. At least she couldn't see the ingredient list on that.
Beth grinned. “You eat like the girls on squad do.” Meaning not much. Or at all. “No wonder you’re so tiny.” Squeezing Alma’s hand they walked into the theater, finding it half full. “You pick where you want to sit. Middle’s best - too close to the front and the screen gets way too big.”
"I do not like additives," Alma explained, guiding Beth to a spot that seemed to be perfectly dead center in the theater. She lowered her voice as they sat down. "What gets put into our food would disgust you if you knew. It is one reason I have a garden. The ranch raises it's own cattle. It helps the other kids learn responsibility, and it means eating healthier there."
She rested her head on Beth's shoulder again, murmuring, "You smell nice." Random!
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Beth was teasing; she too tried to eat mostly organic, when she did eat. She was mostly vegetarian simply to keep her weight down. “You smell nice too.” Beth offered Alma a tiny sip of her slush, figuring she hadn’t ever had one before.
"I'm a biologist. I know things." She acquiesced, taking a sip of the slush and letting out a pleased sound. Okay that was good. Temptingly good. Alma shifted a bit, sliding an arm around Beth's stomach and snuggling in.
"Have you done this before?"
“Gone on a real date?” Beth shook her head. “Nope.” The lights were still up, and the commercials before the trailers were on. But as they snuggled the lights went down and Beth stole a kiss to Alma’s neck.
Tilting her head, Alma lifted a hand to Beth's hair and tugged a little bit, encouraging her to keep doing that. She thrived on physical contact, and on the skin high it gave her. It was a needy sort of hunger.
Beth couldn’t help but inhale sharply at the tug to her hair, not having known how much she liked that until Alma did it. She responded by nipping gently on Alma’s neck, letting her tongue reach out to taste the other girl’s skin for just a moment before returning to her slush.
A shudder ran through Alma's body, starting at where Beth's tongue met her neck, and centering in her lower belly. She swallowed, turning her head to watch Beth drink. "I am very fortunate."
Alma wasn't sure there was any sort of higher power. But she hoped her good fortune would continue when she told Beth everything.
It had only been a few days, and she really rather wanted to stop hiding that from her.
“I think so too.” Beth smiled, kissing Alma’s hand. “It goes both ways.” Soon they were settled in and watching the movie, nuzzling each other and necking all the while. It served the odd dual purpose of making Beth’s heart beat faster but being comforting at the same time.
Necking. Necking was amazing. Alma was actually pretty good at paying attention to the movie even while Beth's presence and touches served to distract her. She wasn't sure she 'got' the movie, though. Maybe the fog in her head was worth it.
She would have to find something to pay Beth back, for 'fun'. Perhaps her zen garden, out at the ranch.
Once they were done with the movie and back in the car, Beth grinned at Alma. “What do you want to do now? There’s still a couple of hours before you have to go back home.” Much to Beth’s chagrin; she’d have to ask Shepard about Alma sleeping over at her house.
"Whatever you want to do, Beth. I do not really have any preference and there is not much I know how to do outside of the home or the lab. I would like to talk some, but that can wait."
Alma slid her arms around Beth's waist, leaning against the cheerleader's car as she did so.
“Want to go back to my house? My parent’s don’t get home until after I go to bed, usually. Doctors.” She shrugged, rolling her eyes. “Dad’s a surgeon and Mom’s a shrink, so I don’t get why she needs to be out all hours.”
Alma agreed readily, and practically dove into the car. She was beginning to move and act a lot more like a normal teenage girl, though with her own unique flavor. She doubted she would ever find herself speaking entirely informally.
Driving back to her own house, Beth couldn’t remember a time she’d smiled so damn much, at least not a genuine one. But Alma had a way of breaking down her barriers without even trying. If Alma had known how to have them, Beth would’ve wondered if the girl had an ulterior motive. She was really glad she didn’t.
Alma inspected Beth's house as she got out of the car. It was a curious eye, no ulterior motives here. She wanted to know how Beth lived. She wanted to see Beth, alone, in her own home, with all her barriers down. She knew the girl had barriers. Well built and strong ones.
It was just a matter of finding the chinks.
Beth’s house was a very nice one in a very nice neighborhood. The lights were out because nobody was home, and soon Beth had them in the foyer. The furniture all looked new because people didn’t sit on it often, and Beth bounded up the stairs, hoping Alma would follow. Her bedroom was the only lived-in looking part of the house, littered with all of the paraphernalia a teenage girl would have - posters, schoolbooks, clothes on the floor and electronics on her desk.
Alma paused at the foot of the stairs, taking in the first floor. The truth was it
She ran up the stairs without hesitating any further, following Beth into her room. It was a lot messier than her own room, which suited Alma just fine - it was an insight into Beth's mind that didn't require violating her thoughts.
She paid particular attention to the posters, leaning towards them, and tugging her skirt hem down a bit as she did so.
Beth flopped onto her bed, smiling at her. “I’m a lot messier than you, sorry. I can pick up if it’d make you feel more comfortable.” The fact that she wanted to pick up for her girlfriend let Beth know just how much she cared. It made her smile.
"No this is..." Alma said, looking back over her shoulder. "It is you, that makes it...perfect." She gave Beth a small smile, before turning around to look at her.
"I like the colors."
“I do too. My parents hate them, which makes it better. They hate most things, though.” Sprawling out onto her stomach, she smiled at her girlfriend, swinging her legs. “But Shepard seems cool. You’re lucky.”
"I do seem to have lucked out. At least when it comes to my guardians," Alma admitted. She walked up to the bed, dropping a hand onto the top of Beth's head and ruffling her hair playfully. "My real father is a..." What was that word? "Douche."
Beth couldn’t help but smile at Alma trying to use slang. It didn’t work on her. Turning to look at her, Beth smiled. “He must be if he’s not taking care of you. Unless he’s dead.” Beth didn’t want to pry; she just wanted to make sure that Alma felt comfortable enough to tell her on her own time.
"It is complicated. I am not sure you would believe me, but I do not want to dissemble around you." Alma sat next to Beth, moving her hand down to the girl's shoulders and rubbing lightly.
"Even if I lose you over it."
“You won’t lose me,” Beth murmured. “It’s not like you can control your childhood.” Turning to lean against Alma, she leaned her head against her shoulder. “I’ll probably be more upset that shit happened to you.”
"My father was a scientist," Alma started, tugging Beth closer. She seemed to be hiding her face in her hair as she spoke. She practically crawled into Beth's lap.
"He ran a project they called 'Demigod' for a company. They wanted to see if they could make smarter children through genetic manipulation and eugenics. I spent quite a few years in front of screens, absorbing information. After I obtained my degree I worked in the lab on various projects, but they were observing me."
Beth ran her fingers lightly over Alma’s back. Her fingers gently pushed Alma’s hair behind her ears, and she could feel her own eyes growing wider. “Douche doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
"I found out about it, and ran away. They sent armed men after me." It hadn't been a good experience all around. She'd ran into that Azula girl, who'd slapped her, but there had been Kitty who'd helped her, and Roy.
"I was eventually led to the ranch, where I was safe. I haven't heard anything from my father since."
Beth met Alma’s eyes. “If he comes after you, you can hide here. Or we’ll run. Shepard doesn’t seem like she’s going to let anything happen to you, but I’m not going to either.” Beth’s voice was low and angry, but not at Alma. “Why would I leave you for your dad being an asshole?”
"Shepard or the ranch would be safer," Alma said, shaking her head. She shifted more, straddling Beth and staring into her eyes. "Trust me on that. There are safe rooms and everything at her house, and bunkers at the Ranch. I would not want to put you in harm's way."
“Then I’ll come there too.” Beth closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against Alma’s. She wanted to keep her safe and loved and content. It bubbled up in her stomach like an ache.
Alma kissed her nose lightly. She was touched, and felt like she was falling off a cliff.
"There is more. This is where it gets really strange."
Beth nodded, smiling and closing her eyes at the kiss to her nose. “Okay, but I’m still not going anywhere.” Squeezing Alma’s hands, Beth kissed the other girl’s fingertips and smiled.
Alma stared at the blonde's face, then lifted a hand to stroke her hair. "I have dreams. Nightmares. I am a project there, too, except it is to study and replicate psychic abilities. I cannot really control the empathy. I can pick up emotions, mostly negative. I am poked and prodded and hurt, and sometimes I lash out. With fire, with psychic assaults."
Her voice was remarkably calm, though there seemed to be an undercurrent of anger and sadness. She talked as if the dreams were real. "I scared them. They induced a coma, and lock me away in a vault so I could not influence their minds. I was almost eight. But my father did not want the project to die."
Beth’s eyes went wider, blue eyes tearing over. But she blinked them back, fiercely refusing to weep. “That’s … that’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t even know why you’d dream that. I mean, I do, but - “ Her arms wrapped more firmly around her girlfriend.
Alma kissed Beth softly, savoring the softness of her lips and pulling strength from the action. "It gets worse, Beth. I dream that my abilities are so powerful, I continually pick up thoughts and emotions, even locked away in the vault."
She kissed her again. "When I was fourteen they impregnated me. I gave birth to a son, but I came out of the coma enough to know what was happening. They took my baby, and put me back, only to make me birth a second son a year later. I watched them grow, through their minds, and the minds of the scientists."
Beth’s eyes closed, her head cocked to the side. “Your dreams are really detailed. Maybe you watched a horrible movie or something when you were younger?” Thinking that Alma’s past could be related to the dreams would be too horrible to think of the smaller girl bearing.
"They are like a continuing sequence," Alma replied, hesitantly trailing her fingers down Beth's cheeks. "When the younger son was ten, I was able to synch our minds. We killed some scientists. They pulled the plug on my life support. My body died. My mind did not."
Beth couldn’t help herself, feeling her eyes tear over a bit. “I’m just really glad that you’re not around your father. I don’t know what your dreams are, but I know I read about people having hinky ones around here on the internet.”
"It's real, the dreams are real for me."
Alma fell silent, staring into Beth's eyes. Her own were apprehensive, and the whole room seemed oppressive with fear and uncertainty. She spoke after a few moments. "I did bad things, Beth. I killed a lot of people. I hurt a lot of people. All for vengeance, all because I was consumed by power, and fear, and hate. I killed my own father. It took my first born and a nuclear explosion to stop me, and that still wasn't enough. There was a man. Part of another project of this company. I lured him taunted him, killed his friends. I lusted for him."
Alma's voice was starting to shake, and objects in the room shook with it. "You have to understand I had no idea what this instinctual need was. I was in a coma for seventeen years and then dead for another twenty. I just knew I needed him. And when I got him, I took what I wanted, whether he wanted me to or not."
Beth’s eyes narrowed. “I’d have done worse, Alma. They deserved worse.” Beth cupped Alma’s cheeks. She could feel the books rattling, feel the bed shaking, and sure, it was scary, but if it was Alma doing it, then it was something she’d have to deal with.
Blue eyes locked on Alma’s, Beth’s voice was quiet and even. “I’m not scared of you. I’m not scared of your anger or your lust or anything you are because you weren’t born bad or doing awful things, they fucking made you do them. I’m not scared of anything, Alma, and if all of your dreams are real - which is something that I hope my dreams aren’t, let’s get that out there - your father had better never hope he meets me. Ever.”
"I was a corpse who raped a man," Alma hissed, her eyes almost taking on an eerie, yellow glow. She gripped Beth's hands on her cheeks. "I had his baby. I destroyed a city from the psychic backlash of the labor pains. I was hunted, hounded and I lashed out. My father...Harlan Wade still haunted me."
Alma didn't know if she could find the words to explain the monster that had formed, from her own personal torment and the remnants of Harlan's mind. She didn't know if she could explain the hell world that her mind had become.
"My only hope was my sons. I never even learned the name of the first, and he ... he let me rest, finally. He took his sister from my womb and gave me peace."
“But you didn’t do that here.” Beth’s voice was hard, not flinching from the yellow glow. The core of Beth Cassidy’s being was stubbornness, especially in the face of something difficult. “Alma, you may remember it, you may feel like it was you, but you’re not that person right here, right now. You’re just not. I’m not the same person I was when I was five. And I know there’s no comparison, but if you think you have to find redemption, if you think you need something like that, I disagree.”
Closing her eyes, Beth kissed Alma, hoping it would remind her to be present. Sometimes it seemed like people got stuck in the worst moments of their lives and forgot about right then.
Telling the story in full like that was having a profound effect on Alma. She hadn't ever really put it into stark words before. Bits and pieces there. Rough descriptions of herself as a monster. But never explaining it as a narrative.
A wind whipped through the room, blowing clothing, their hair, papers and books around. She was struggling to keep her mood contained, not wanting to influence or control Beth in any way. That was the last thing she wanted. To hurt or control people.
Just last week she found herself using her powers to help fight an invasion. That had felt good. Really good. Not just letting her powers go and REALLY run rampant, but doing it to help people. To protect people. Protect people like Beth.
There was a growing circle of people serving to remind her that she wasn't going to become either the raging monster, or the sorrowful empty shell.
Alma closed her eyes, nodding her head, letting Beth calm her. She kissed her back.. Beth was right. She was getting stuck in the bad. Talking about it helped, but it also made her reflect too much. She started to kiss harder.
Alma kissing her back was a good sign, and Beth sighed contentedly, pulling her closer and running her fingers through the other girl’s hair. “You’ve lived through all of that, dreams or no, and you’re still here, giggling at silly movies with me. You’re a good person, Alma. Anyone who doesn’t believe that is frankly stupid.” Beth smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. She wasn’t an empath like Alma, but seeing the girl she had a huge crush on hurting had gotten to her.
Alma swallowed a hard lump. "I do not scare you? I could flay your body with my mind, drive you mad, rip every thought, emotion and memory out of your brain."
“And I could shoot you in the head, I could cheat on you and make you cry, I could stab you while you sleep and stuck weird stuff in your eyeballs. You’re not the only human who’s capable of cruelty. Your father should’ve taught you that if he taught you anything.” Beth smiled, kissing Alma again. “You don’t scare me, Alma. Not one little bit.”
"If you cheat on my I will melt your brain," Alma replied, though from her teary smile she seemed to be joking. One would hope. She'd been expecting...she wasn't sure what she had expected. More resistance, or disbelief. Fear. Alma cupped both of Beth's cheeks. "When you touch me I don't fear myself."
“If I’m not scared of you, you shouldn’t be scared of you either.” Beth smiled, using her thumb to wipe away Alma’s tears. “I admit, it would’ve sounded way more far fetched if you hadn’t made all my books float.” She couldn’t help but smile, kissing Alma again as she teased her gently. “Alma, I like you. I’m not scared, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not going to cheat on you.”
One of the most wonderful things that Alma had discovered, was linking minds with another person. She'd only ever done it with River, but that had lacked a certain intimacy and connection that she thought she and Beth were developing.
A smile formed on Alma's lips, and she kissed Beth, sending her voice into the cheerleader's head. Think at me.
Beth only froze for a moment but it was in surprise. I suppose I should have expected that. Grinning, Beth couldn’t help but laugh to herself. I’ve been thinking of dirty things, if only because my parents won’t be home for a while. But I also want to make sure that you’re okay and you’re not worried. I don’t like it when you cry. It kind of guts me.
Remember when I said I could make you feel what I felt? Alma asked, her mental voice a little mischievous. I have not peeked, though sometimes it is difficult to keep your thoughts out.
She blinked back sudden wetness in her eyes, pulling her head back to break the kiss and look at Beth. "It guts you?"
Oh, god, the evil, wonderful things we could do with that. Beth’s grin was more of a smirk, but she lightly nipped at Alma’s lower lip. Peek all you want, whenever you’re in the room you’re all I can think of.
Smoothing out Alma’s hair when she broke the kiss, Beth smiled. “I care about you. I know it’s soon, but I do. I care about your happiness. I don’t like it when you cry. It hurts, I feel it.” She patted her chest. “It’s this weird heaviness.”
Alma took a quick peek and turned a whole new shade of red. I find it increasingly difficult to focus around you.
"What if it was my powers leaking? I could not stand it if I accidentally coerced you.."
“I first wanted to take care of you when we were talking on the internet. You can’t coerce people from that far away, right?” Beth smiled and kissed Alma a little. “Really, I think you worry too much. You’ve seen how stubborn I am, do you think you can coerce me?” She was teasing; she was sure Alma could easily if she wanted to.
"I probably could, if I tried." Alma rubbed her lips against Beth's cheek, then up along her jaw. She nipped near the cheerleader's ear, and blew into the canal, whispering. "So I need to relax?"
“You do.” Beth closed her eyes, feeling her muscles go weak. She was trying really hard not to think about all of the things she wanted to do to Alma, if only because they might be overwhelming.
Alma grinned, Beth's reaction stirring fire inside her. She wrapped her arms around the girl and kissed her ear. Tell me what to do. I have listened in on people on accident. But I want to know what you need.
I just need you. Beth liked the psychic link, it was ridiculously intimate. I told Shepard I’d let you set the pace on stuff like this. What do you want? Running her teeth lightly over Alma’s neck, Beth smiled. “I just want to do whatever we do with you.”
Gasping, Alma dug her nails into Beth's back. She shared a little of how that felt over the link. "Slow...we take it slower." It pained her to say it, but she thought that would be important. Still, she added. "Not glacially so."
Beth gasped when she could feel Alma kissing her neck without Alma’s lips being anywhere near her. “You just tell me what you’re okay with, okay?” Biting her lower lip, Beth couldn’t help but think taking it slow might actually be hotter. She’d never really done that.
Alma lay down, pulling Beth on top of her. She ran her hands up and down the cheerleader's back, over her shirt. "Kissing. Touching." She grinned a bit at the lip biting. "I like when you do that."
Beth chuckled. “I’ve never gone slow, so tell me if you need me to stop.” Kissing Alma’s earlobe, Beth could feel her own skin raise into goosebumps. I like doing it. You should know that I like making you happy as much as I like being happy myself. Her tongue ran lightly over Alma’s earlobe.
Alma arched her neck, turning her head to give Beth more access. That's good... Even her mental voice sounded breathless. She trailed her fingers under Beth's shirt, stroking two up the blonde's spine. She needed to touch her, especially after how emotional the afternoon had turned out.
I can take my top off if you want, or is that too much? Slow hadn’t ever been an option for Beth, so she didn’t really know what encompassed it. Nibbling gently on Alma’s neck, Beth sighed at Alma’s clever little fingers on her spine.
Even though she'd seen Beth naked before, the thought was both frightening and still arousing. But if keeping it on would make Beth squirm more.. Keep it on for now.
She shivered underneath Beth, letting out a gentle moan. One hand inched into the back pocket of her jeans, and the other continued to trace her spine. A tactile sensation ghosted along Beth's earlobe as Alma tested the control of that aspect of her powers.
Alma was learning how to be a tease!
Gasping, Beth arched into Alma’s not-touch, shivering and feeling goosebumps break out over her skin. Holy - Beth couldn’t even finish the thought and instead turned her head to kiss Alma again, harder and hotter than before. Her tongue skimmed into Alma’s mouth, whimpering quietly.
Her nails once again digging into Beth's back (and her backside!), Alma whimpered in response to the kiss. The heat of the kiss and how hard it was swept her away. She didn't expect Beth's tongue to invade her mouth, but she opened hers, letting it in. It excited her on such a deep, carnal level that she couldn't think straight. She sucked hard, begging for more.
Groaning, Beth couldn’t help rocking her hips lightly against Alma, trying to get some sort of friction. She liked the pain, she couldn’t help but wish that Alma would use her fingernails even more, but she was far too distracted to vocalize the thought. Her fingers tugged lightly at Alma’s hair, testing if the less experienced girl liked it as much as she did.
Beth didn't need to vocalize the thought. Alma heard it, and dug her nails into the cheerleader's rear a little harder, a little afraid of hurting her. She dragged the nails of her other hand down her back.
The hair tugging made her release Beth's tongue and gasp. She hesitantly flicked her tongue against Beth's.
Beth returned the gesture, lightly running her tongue over the tip of Alma’s, groaning and rocking against her again. She wondered idly if it was possible for girls to get blue balls but knew it was more than worth it for Alma.
Smiling at the reaction to tugging her hair, Beth grinned down at Alma. “Good or bad?”
"Good..!" Alma sounded surprised, as though she'd never considered that would be good. Idly, she ran her hand in circles around the back of Beth's jeans, then freed the hand under her shirt to pull Beth's head back down for more flicking of tongues.
They were going to run out of time way too quickly.
It was true; soon Beth looked up and saw it was quarter of eleven. “I should get you home,” she murmured. “Don’t want to, but if I don’t Shepard won’t let you come back.” She knew Alma would see the truth in her words.
Alma panted, catching her breath. "Already? It feels like we just got started." She sat up, nuzzling her face into Beth's chest and exhaling. She gave a deep breath, and pulled away. She had a naughty, naughty look on her face. "I still owe you."
To elaborate, she gave Beth a very intense mental picture of what they'd done in the girl's shower - only with positions reversed.
“You don’t - “ Beth closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying not to whimper. “You don’t owe me. You’re not obligated. You can if you want to, but only if you want to.” Beth ran her fingers over Alma’s hair, holding her and smiling contentedly. “I like you, Alma. A lot.”
Standing up, Beth went to brush her hair and make sure her clothes were all in place. She didn’t want Shepard to be able to tell too much.
"I want to!" Alma smoothed her hair out without really moving, then helped Beth with that. It was like ghost fingers moving through her hair. Then they were joined by Alma's real fingers.
Sometimes you can't beat the real thing.
“Shepard might kill you.”
“For what?” Beth grinned and closed her eyes, sighing at Alma’s fingers in her hair. “Going on a date with my girlfriend? Heaven forbid. She knows damn well what we were getting up to, and she knows that I’m not pressuring you. We didn’t do anything tonight.” Beth grinned impishly. “If she does kill me, I’m haunting her ass.”
Alma pushed Beth's hair aside, kissing the back of her neck. She really did want to taste her. Taste all of her. But that could wait. "We did enough that it is going to feel like eternity before I see you again."
“Well, when are you free?” Beth took her hand, leading her back downstairs. “I can totally get my mom to agree to a sleepover. Even if she’s here, she’s so loaded up on Ambien that she won’t notice if we do anything.”
"Friday night?" No school the next day. They could sleep in. "The last sleepover that was not you, we spent baking and watching old movies."
“That sounds good too.” Beth smiled, kissing Alma on the forehead. “It’ll be fun to bake something that isn’t zucchini bread.” It was all her mom ever made and Beth hated it. “We can make gingerbread men.”
Beth hated to take Alma home, but she felt glad that her guardian would feel more comfortable. Shepard seemed cool all on her own, so she wanted to make sure that she was liked.
"I learned how to make 'proper' biscuits." Alma explained. "She learned from an Englishwoman." She took Beth's hand to walk downstairs and out to the car. She'd smoothed over her hair, but nothing could hide that hickey on her neck.
Beth winced and laughed at the hickey. “Shepard is going to kill me. Nothing to do but tell her about it.” God, she hoped that Alma’s dad didn’t come home or something.
Alma's fingers threaded with Beth's as she wrangled with her emotions. "I think it will be fine. Take me home."
Beth drove Alma to her house, pulling up and walking her girlfriend to the door. Leaning against it, Beth smiled and kissed her lightly.
Alma grinned, almost girlishly. She hugged Beth. "I will see you..tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I guess Friday!" Then she indulged in another kiss.
“See you then. Tell Shepard that she can call my mom anytime.” Kissing Alma again, Beth reluctantly moved back to her car. Friday couldn’t come too soon.