Who: Eddi and Val. Where: Theater. When: Early afternoon.
The past couple of days hadn’t been too terrible; the people in charge seemed eager to cause tension, but Eddi believed full heartedly that everyone here was on the same page, and that they had to work together. ...Until that morning, where apparently someone was looking to cause trouble. Not that… she believed it entirely--that it was one of her housemates. It made more sense if it was one of Them looking to cause a divide again.
But the others were right… there wasn’t really a way of knowing for certain, was there? The unfortunate circumstances were definitely disheartening, and the proposition they’d all received didn’t make it any better.
Eddi could definitely think of a few things she’d like from home, but she didn’t want to just give in to whatever They wanted. She liked to think they were all doing their best to break away from their captors, but willingly accepting their deal felt like they were all just… giving up. Or maybe she needed to think more on what Juno was saying; she had to be realistic. How long were they going to be here? There was nothing wrong with doing what you had to (within reason) to get on, right?
But what ...Canew Yucker? had said was true too. Would whatever They told them to do be worth it…?
Deciding it wouldn’t do her any good to mope around her room, she ventured off towards the rest of the house and made her way to the theater, which she hadn’t gotten a chance to fully explore yet. Like the video game room, the library was just as expansive. They could really get anything, couldn’t they…?
Eddi browsed through the selection, not entirely certain what she was in the mood for.
After having spent the past... three? days in a cycle of buzzed, drunk, hung over, rinse and repeat, Val felt ready to give her body a day off. Things were really strange in this place, almost more so than in the beginning. It had been awfully quiet in the requirements department; at least they hadn't had to go visit the robo-doctors again, so there was definitely a silver lining. Sometimes you just had to look for it. But being on a three-day hangover meant that Val was feeling incredibly out of sorts.
She'd woke up that morning thrilled with the sight of all her favorite toiletries in her bathroom, and she'd indulged first thing in a shower, desperate to wash her hair with her expensive shampoo. It was blissful. And then she'd gone on the computer for a little bit, pondering the idea of making a deal with the devil and amusing herself with all the talk of bubble baths, but not bothering to read the earlier stuff. The flirting was quite fun, too. It felt normal, which was incredible considering the circumstances. And whether or not anything came of the flirting didn't matter as much as no one had told her to fuck off.
When it seemed like no one was biting just yet, Val decided to finally venture from her room. Her feet led her upstairs, curious as she hadn't really explored up there yet. The first two floors both had community rooms, so she was curious what might be upstairs. Although it mostly seemed to be bedrooms, same as her own floor, she did notice the theater and slipped inside. She noticed the Eddi browsing the movies, remembering the younger woman from the billiards room yesterday.
"Hey, trying to find something to watch?" Val said by way of greeting, her smile friendly.
Eddi looked back and smiled at the familiarish face. She recognized the woman from the day before, but couldn't quite place a name...
"Hi. Yeah, there's a lot to choose from," she glanced briefly back towards the selection. "I'm not really sure what I want to watch, though... Is there anything in particular you're interested in?"
Va smiled a little wider at the question, laughing softly under her breath, hesitating just inside the door. Really, what she was in the mood to watch was highly likely to not be available in this library. “Oooh, I don’t know. What sorts of movies do you prefer outside of this place?” she asked curiously, almost hedging really, as she didn’t want to scare the younger girl.
Eddi beamed as the woman smiled and chuckled; she seemed like a really nice and friendly person!
"Umm... I like action, some drama... Animated movies... I like scary movies too... Certain ones, anyway. My brother always wants to watch them, and he gets scared by himself so he makes me watch them with him," she looked towards the ground briefly, her eyes lost in thought and her smile softening slightly.
"Do you want to watch something together? If you're not busy," her expression lit back up.
As Eddi spoke, Val came further into the room, coming to stand near her to browse the movie library with her. “Aww, is he younger, then?” she asked curiously. She had to think that an older brother wouldn’t be able to live it down if he needed his baby sister to watch scary movies with him to keep from getting scared, but what did she know? She didn’t actually have any brothers.
At the offer, Val practically beamed at the younger girl. “Oh, I don’t know, there’s just so much going on,” she said, putting on airs and being silly before laughing lightly. “I’d love to join you,” she added a moment later. “So, now we’ve just gotta figure out what to watch.” She hummed a little as she started thumbing through the movies.
Eddi giggled at the question. “No, he’s older than me by a year, but our older brother doesn’t like scary movies at all, and our older sister gets too intense and starts hitting him when something scary happens.”
Still smiling widely, she poked her head closer to get a view of what movies the woman was browsing through. “Do you want to watch something you haven’t seen before, or rewatch something? I kind of want something that has a happy ending… but--only if that’s okay with you!” She added quickly.
Val resisted, just barely, raising her eyebrows in surprise as Eddi explained her siblings a bit more. “Ahh, you guys must be close, then?” she asked with a small, almost sad smile. And she felt a pang, thinking about her own sister then. They’d always been close, and she wondered how Katie was doing, wondered what her family thought was going on with her. She pushed those thoughts away, though; they wouldn’t do her any good, would only depress her, and she was doing her damndest to avoid the overwhelming threat of depression in this place.
“Oooh! Happy endings are the best. Not that I mind action and even a little horror once in awhile, but I’ll admit, cheesy romances are my favorite.” She laughed just a little at herself then, shifting her attention to a different section of movies. Of course, it didn’t have to be a cheesy romance to have a happy ending, but Eddi had asked her opinion, and she was never all that shy with it.
Eddi had sort of caught the very brief change of expression, and for a fleeting moment, she wondered if maybe she had said something wrong? But before she could think on it too long, the subject switched back to movies.
“Cheesy romances are fun too!” Eddi lived vicariously through romance movies since relationships were a foreign subject for her--at least in regards to people being lovey-dovey and wanting to be with each other all the time. Any time she “dated” someone it barely lasted three weeks, and as awful as she felt thinking so, they were all painful, awkward chores. She just chalked it up to still being a teenager and not finding someone she really cared about in that way.
“Do you want to watch a romance movie, then? That’d be fun.”
Val was quite pleased when Eddi agreed with her assessment of cheesy romance movies. Considering their circumstances, she rather thought something more lighthearted like that would be better. "I'd love to!" she answered the question even as she searched through the titles, figuring something would jump out at her eventually.
"Do you have an all time favorite movie?" Val asked, a few of the titles jumping out at her as possibilities already.
“For romance, or just in general?” Eddi took a moment to think about it. “For romance… Legally Blonde, or Never Been Kissed are pretty good… I think, anyway. But in general, I like pretty much any Disney movie,” she smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, that’s probably kind of… kiddy.”
Considering Eddi answered it either way, Val didn’t feel the need to specify which one she’d meant. And the answer gave her a little more direction. She was dying to choose something a little more risque, perhaps even one of her favorites with lesbian themes, but Eddi was young and Val was still trying to figure out what would startle people too much in this house. Sure, the cultural views in their world were slowly changing, but that didn’t always mean her openness about her sexuality would be accepted.
“You don’t have to apologize!” Val insisted with a little laugh. “I grew up on Disney movies. Now, this just might start a fight, but which one is your favorite?” she asked with a teasing tone. She was still waiting for Disney to come out with queer-friendly movies, but she wasn’t holding her breath.
Eddi smiled at Val’s approval. It was probably stupid for her to care so much, but she didn’t want anyone in the house to treat or think of her as a kid; she didn’t want to be a burden.
“Umm… Probably Lilo and Stitch. Or maybe Mulan? Oh, I like Monsters Inc too!”
“Ooh, Mulan is my favorite!” Val replied, smiling widely. Sure, she’d said maybe, but Val was jumping on it anyway. “There’s just something about a woman who saves the day,” she added cheekily with a wink toward the younger woman.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe they have this here!” Val said, surprised when a title finally jumped out at her as The One. “How do you feel about quirky indie type films?” she asked, already taking the movie, Appropriate Behaviour, off the shelf and bouncing over to put it in.
Eddi grinned at Val and gave a small nod. There weren’t a lot of movies like that growing up, but she was glad Rhys enjoyed and encouraged it as much as he did. (Sometimes she could hear him singing the training song to himself.)
Tilting her head at the other woman’s exclamation, she followed after curiously. “I like those.” She was honestly fine with watching anything if her movie-mate wanted to. “What’s this one about?”
“Hmm, it’s about a woman figuring her life out and dealing with some cultural… backlash,” Val answered a little vaguely. Really, she wanted to see Eddi’s reactions fresh to the movie itself, not colored by Val’s own thoughts beforehand. “And now! To find the perfect viewing position in this room,” she said with a little wink, wandering around the couches and contemplating the views before finally settling on one right in the middle of the room, patting the spot next to her to invite Eddi to sit with her.
“Oh, okay!” Eddi liked movies like that, partially because she felt she was in a similar position. She didn’t really know where she stood in life, or where she wanted to stand. That was another silver lining in this situation she supposed, as long as she was here, she didn’t have to think about that.
She sat next to Val, trying not to sit too close or too far, not until she could judge what would be comfortable for her. Personally, she was a very tactile person, but the last thing she wanted to do was upset someone in the house because of that.
It sounded like Eddi was interested in the movie, which Val was considering a win. She really never was quite sure how women would respond to her, which could have been anxiety-inducing if she focused on it much at all. So, she did her best not to focus on it.
When Eddi sat near her, Val shifted a bit, looking over to grin speculatively at the younger girl for a moment. “I know we hardly know each other at all, and this situation is really so weird, but would you mind sitting a little closer? We’ve been here for like, what? A week or something, already? I can’t remember the last time I went a whole week without cuddling with someone,” she admitted, wrinkling her nose just a bit. And Eddi seemed the type to like cuddling, with the way she’d talked about her family and such. Val could hope anyway, right?
Oh! Eddi hadn’t expected that, but she understood where Val was coming from; she missed leaning on her family while they watched TV on the couch, or laying on top of someone while they read a book on the bed.
She nodded, sliding closer to the woman and feeling a tiny bit flustered as her arm brushed against hers, though she didn’t quite understand why. Maybe it was just their entire situation was a little strange? But if they were all going to be housemates, there was nothing wrong with something like this, right? Carefully, she linked her arm with Val’s, while she tried to internally shake off that tiny voice deep down that yearned for the older woman’s approval.
“Um. Just let me know if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, okay?”
Was it manipulative, Val wondered as Eddi seemed just a little flustered yet willing? She justified it to herself with the reminder that she wasn’t outright trying to do anything untoward, just keeping things open to the possibility. They were all adults in this house, after all. “Oh, sweetie, I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t make me uncomfortable, no matter what,” she assured her, her voice not as heavy with innuendo as she thought it might have with someone who didn’t look as equally eager and unsure as Eddi did just then.
What minimal amounts of innuendo might have remained completely flew by Eddi’s head, and she smiled at Val’s assurances. She wasn’t entirely certain how sincere she was being, or whether she was just saying that to be nice, but the teenager appreciated her thoughtfulness and resisted the urge to rest her head on the other’s arm. That would probably be too much in such a short time after their meeting.
“Thanks for doing this with me. It’s kind of nice to forget about all the other stuff that’s going on.”
Val smiled reassuringly at her and shifted to free her arm from Eddi’s grasp. Instead, she put it around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer. “There’s a lot of stuff worth forgetting about, just for a little bit. And trust me, I don’t mind helping at all,” she said softly. The movie was just starting, but Val was paying more attention to the younger woman that the images on the screen.
...Eddi wasn't quite expecting that on any level, and the gears in her brain were slowly turning but she didn't want to jump to any conclusions. She could hear her heart beating in her ears, and she was afraid maybe even Val would be aware of it at this point. But since she didn't seem to mind so far, Eddi carefully rested her head against the older woman.
Okay, so they didn’t really know each other much at all, but there was something compelling about the younger woman. She seemed so sweet and unsure and innocent, so opposite to Val. It was intriguing, even if it did make her tone down her flirtatiousness for the time being. Not that she would be against anything happening, but for the moment, she was just trying to make the younger girl feel more comfortable, more connected in this situation stuck with strangers.
As they watched the movie, Val wasn’t even consciously aware of the way her fingers moved lightly over Eddi’s shoulder, the way her cheek rested lightly against the top of Eddi’s head. It was comfortable and soothing, like a balm to her soul. When it became clear that the movie centered around a lesbian relationship, she couldn’t help the way she glanced down at Eddi, trying to gauge her reaction to it.
As unfamiliar and strange as this situation was, Eddi couldn't help but feel herself relaxing into it... Maybe she should've been more cautious, but she wasn't afraid of anyone in this house; she didn't want to be. She wanted to trust everyone, and right now she was putting her trust in Val.
She continued to cozy up against her as they watched the movie, and whenever she felt the gentle brushes of Val's finger tips, she could feel her heart fluttering which was slightly anxiety inducing because why, but it felt... nice?
It might've taken Eddi a little bit, but as the movie went on, she started to parallel certain themes of the film to her current situation but... nah, she was just overthinking it. There wasn't anything romantic about this, right? Why would someone as beautiful and outgoing as Val be interested in a dumb kid like her? Even someone as optimistic as Eddi thought that was kind of delusional. ...Though she didn't squash that hope immediately, instead wanting to hold onto that pleasant warmth sitting inside her chest.
She took the "controversial" content in stride, not thinking anything strangely about it. She remembered when they were younger, Rhys was afraid of saying anything to the rest of the family, especially their mom... and it tore her up how little she could do to help him.
This was one of those very few situations that seemed able to calm something inside of Val, that allowed her usually restless energy to settle and relax. There was just something wonderful about about a soft, warm body curled up against hers. Certainly, it was something of a temptation, as well, but so many things were to her, so she could hardly be blamed for embracing yet one more. And Eddi truly was a delightful temptation, all young and innocent. And Legal. Which was always very important to Val. Although she wasn’t sure it mattered in these circumstances, outside of here, it was critical that she never cross that line with a minor. Her job and reputation and freedom rather depended on it.
“I’m so glad the world views are changing,” she murmured as the closing credits began to play. And then she removed her arm from around Eddi’s shoulders and stretched both of hers up high. “I’ll never have to worry about whether or not I can get married, no matter what state I live in,” she added with a soft smile, honest and serious despite her light tone. “You know, if we ever get out of here.” Though she was still holding out hope that it would happen. She wasn’t so jaded yet by the situation, though that could still happen.
When Val pulled her arm away, Eddi felt the warmth draw away deeper than from just her shoulders, though she tried to push it away from the forefront of her mind. It's not like she could do anything about it... what was she going to do, latch back onto her?
...No, darn it. She was not.
It wasn't the revelation itself that was surprising, it was more their situation revolving around the admission. She felt her brain trying to connect the dots, but she quickly waved those fantasiesassumptions away.
"O-oh. Is that something you really want to do? Um. Get married, that is."
As Val’s arms came down out of her stretch, she shifting, turning to face Eddi more fully, wanting to be able to look at her and see how she responded to things. It was kind of like a game, one in which she rather thought there wouldn’t be any losers.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Val replied with a nod, biting her lip around a smile. “The whole nine yards, just haven’t found the right girl yet,” she admitted with no reservations. Sure, she was willing to go the whole flings, assisting with girls just wanting to experiment route, but it was always in the back of her head that she wanted something more serious and lasting. She would settle with what she could get, though, because life was too short to not enjoy whatever good and fun things came into it.
“What about you? Have anyone special waiting for you back home?” she asked Eddi with a bit of teasing innuendo in her tone.
The question made her blush, and she briefly looked away. That was such a dumb kid thing to do...! She couldn't act like that around V--the others if she wanted them to take her seriously...
Eddi glanced up, not quite meeting the woman's eyes. "N-no. I don't think about that sort of thing too often--not that there's anything wrong with it! I just uh. ..." Don't say something stupid don't say something stupid don't say something stupid. "Um..." Okay but still say something! "T...there isn't anyone I'm really interested in back home."
It wasn’t so much a kid thing as a sign of inexperience, which was never something that could scare Val off. Sure, she enjoyed being with women who were confident and experienced, but she could also enjoy helping an inexperienced girl learn the things she likes. Experimenting was important, Val thought, and she enjoyed being a part of that process. Eddi just seemed so flustered about it all that she couldn’t help but wonder what she could do to put the girl at ease.
“That’s okay.” Preferable even, in some ways, as there wouldn’t be those feelings of guilt tied in if Eddi were to find someone she was interested in here. That’s how Val was viewing it for herself, anyway, even if there was a part of her that had long yearned for something serious and lasting. “You don’t think of it often, though?” She couldn’t help herself, the turn of phrase seemed strange to her, as she was someone whose sexuality came on strong with puberty. “Has there ever been anyone you were unbelievably attracted to? Even if you never said or did anything about it?” she asked, hoping Eddi wouldn’t be too embarrassed by it.
Well, there wasn’t before.
Eddi’s eyes darted back towards the floor, and she cleared her throat lightly before speaking up. “No, not really… I’d done some dating in high school, because they seemed nice and they were…” She gave a small shrug. “Attractive, I guess? But I didn’t really feel anything towards them… It was more like I was trying to make it work, because…” It felt weird to not know what she wanted, when everyone else seemed so relaxed about themselves?
“I dunno,” Eddi smiled sheepishly. “I’m not the best at that sort of thing, I guess.”
She seemed confused, and Val didn’t like that. The teenage years could be incredibly frustrating that way, though, she remembered. Even though she had realized her own sexuality wasn’t quite straight and normal young, it had taken her actually dating a guy for her to realize there just wasn’t anything there.
“Everyone dates in high school,” she said exaggeratingly. “And if you don’t, you feel like you’re doing something wrong. But I can kind of relate, I think. When I was fourteen, I had my first go at dating. It was this really nice, sweet guy named Lee, but even though he was so sweet, the first time we kissed, there was just… nothing. I didn’t get any of those fluttery feelings in my chest, didn’t have any strong desire to do it again. Which felt weird, because I’d always loved the idea of kissing,” she admitted with a light laugh. It was true even now; she loved kissing, as long as it was a woman on the other end.
At the confession, Eddi was finally able to look up at Val and nodded readily. That there was someone else who felt the same way lifted a weight inside of her. "I felt the same way too... I tried to keep with it, thinking maybe I just needed to give it more time. But... I dunno, I feel so terrible saying this, but it was exhausting, and kind of boring? Also they were really bad at kissing, it felt like they were trying to lick my face," she giggled.
And that… That was just the right kind of opening, and Val was never one to waste a good opportunity. “Oh, sweetie, that’s awful! Kissing is…” She paused, humming under her breath as her eyelids fluttered almost all the way closed as she thought about it. “Amazing, when the person you’re kissing knows what they’re doing.” Looking back at Eddi, locking eyes with her, she pulled her lower lip between her teeth, releasing it slowly. “Want to try it?” she offered, her eyes flickering down to Eddi’s lips and back.
Even if she didn't realize it, or wasn't thinking about it intentionally, Eddi was so hyper aware of the smallest details of Val's expressions right then; her eyes flicked from Val's to her lips and then back towards her eyes.
"...Huh?" Not expecting that turn of events, Eddi's mind completely blanked out at the proposition. Automatically she asked very carefully, "D-do y...ou?"
Val’s eyes darkened almost imperceptibly, as she realized the opening was still there, that the ball -as it were- was in her court. It had anticipation dancing in her belly. “Oh yes,” she answered confidently, her lips curving up in a small smirk. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re beautiful, Eddi.” And it was true, Val did find the younger girl quite attractive. Reaching a hand across the small distance between them, she brushed her fingertips against Edid’s cheek as she lightly pushed her hair away from her face, her thumb lingering lightly on her cheekbone. She waited, though, for some indication that Eddi was willing.
Yep, this was the part where Eddi forgot to keep breathing. Most of her brain activity was focused on absorbing every one of Val's actions and how they warmed her insides. A restless anxiety started to spin around in her chest, but it wasn't unpleasant.
She wanted to say something in response, something along the lines of, No, you're much more beautiful than I am, but the words were stuck in her throat as the wires in her mind were too fried to work properly right then.
Her head tilted a degree, as her cheek pressed up closer against the woman's touch. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned ever so slightly forward, hesitantly and expectantly.
And that was all Val was waiting for. As Eddi’s eyes closed, Val closed the distance between them, making it a point to go slow and gentle, to ease the younger woman into it. She wanted Eddi to enjoy this, wanted her to understand why people seemed to love kissing so much. Okay, so she wasn’t entirely altruistic here; she definitely wanted the comfort and pleasure of soft lips and a warm body, but she reassured herself that this was mutually beneficial, that she wasn’t using Eddi.
Their lips met, and Val’s moved gently over them, her fingers pushing further into Eddi’s hair, holding her close. It was soft and sweet, and Val had to remind herself not to take it further than just a kiss. Yet.
As soon as she felt Val's lips on hers, her heartbeat quickened. Eddi wasn't entirely sure what to do next here, but a small voice in her mind refused to simply be led. She pushed her lips a bit firmer against the woman's, and began to gently suck on her bottom lip.
It was more than Val had hoped for so early in the kiss, but she definitely wasn’t complaining. She hummed into the kiss, rewarding Eddi’s instincts in a way. And she felt a small thrill of victory when it seemed that the younger woman was enjoying this when she hadn’t enjoyed kissing boys before. Not that she’d doubted her ability, but it was rewarding nonetheless.
Her tongue slid against Eddi’s lips, seeking to deepen the kiss, already yearning for more. It felt like it had been far too long for her, and now that the opportunity was presenting itself, she wasn’t sure she could keep herself from pushing for more.
Eddi's heart jumped at her sound of approval; that meant she hadn't messed up yet, right?
Her hands moved to hold Vals', and she waited a few beats before she joined the woman, her tongue slowly reaching out to meet hers. She was eager to please, but she didn't want to make any novice mistakes--she last thing she wanted to do was put her off and disappoint her.
And Val was far from disappointed; no, she was enjoying herself quite a lot. But despite her internal thrill and enthusiasm, she continued to keep things light and slow. Her tongue moved expertly against Eddi’s, and after a bit she slowly withdrew, pressing a firm kiss against her lips one last time before pulling back with a slow, satisfied smile. She looked at Eddi expectantly, as if silently asking her if her thoughts on kissing had changed now.
When Val drew back, Eddi reflexively leaned after her, until she snapped back into reality and paused, her eyes fluttering back open. She drew a long, slow breath as she looked up at Val. Her heart was still beating loudly in her ears, and she was more than aware her face was burning up.
Looking to fill the silence, she began to mumble. "Um. ...That was nice."
Eddi’s words teased a laugh from Val, and she shook her head in amusement. “It was better than nice,” she murmured teasingly. Her hand slid from Eddi’s hair then, her fingertips brushing lightly over her cheek as she did so. “You should never be afraid of or embarrassed by your desires,” she advised. She had a hard time remembering that there was ever a time that she had been shy about exploring what she truly desired, as that shyness had quickly passed, overtaken by her natural confidence.
Eddi smiled softly, the heat fading from her cheeks slightly as Val spoke. She couldn't help but admire how amazing a person she was. She knew what she wanted, and she knew what to do... when Eddi thought about herself, she felt she paled in comparison.
Shyly, she raised one of her hands and held Val's against her cheek as she nuzzled it lightly.
To be honest, she still wasn't entirely certain what her desires encompassed exactly, but she did know now the woman's presence filled her with a comforting warmth.
"...Thank you."
As Eddi nuzzled her hand, Val’s fingers moved soothingly over the soft skin. It stirred up the desire in her even more. Eddi was so responsive, even if it hadn’t fully been unlocked yet, and she couldn’t help but imagine how it would be… what she would look like… Those thoughts were probably not entirely appropriate, but she couldn’t stop them, and her gaze turned even more heated as she imagined.
“You’re welcome.” Val swallowed and licked her lips, her eyes flicking between Eddi’s eyes and lips again. “Anytime,” she added the open invitation with a slow smirk.
Eddi tugged the woman's fingers lightly to her lips and kissed them gently.
The experience had gone better than she would have ever thought, and for now she was content with the company. She breathed in happily when she felt Val's fingers caressing her skin. And it was kind of strange to be in a place like this, and in a situation like this, but... whatever anxieties she had about what she needed to make it through this ordeal quieted. The tranquility Val brought was more than what she expected from anything she could've obtained from Them.