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Limbs intertwined in the darkness, bodies sprawled on the less than comfortable cot. Breathing slowed, and in the dark room, reality began to reclaim its hold on the minds of the two occupants. It was with reluctance they forgot the pleasure of the small paradise they’d made here and remembered they were fighting a war.
“They’re going to be looking for us.” Dot’s no-nonsense tone shattered the remains of the calm peace and brought the full weight of their responsibilities back on them.
“Let ‘em look, sugah. Ya said yourself no one would think of disturbin’ you here. Besides, Ah think we deserve the break. We’ve been fighting non-stop since Megabyte took over the Principal office.”
She sighed and closed her eyes as fingers trailed over her bare skin.
If she could concentrate on that feather light touch and forget that she
was waging a war... She shifted, suddenly aware of how uncomfortable the
cot was. Funny, she’d never noticed before. Mouse withdrew her hand and
Dot felt the cot shift as she sat up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean...”
“It’s okay, Hun. No big deal.” Mouse shoved a handful of her fiery tresses out of her face. “You’re right anyway. We’ve got responsibilities t’ the system...”
Dot pulled herself into a sitting position, arms hugging her knees. “No, you were right.” She rested her forehead on the tops of her knees. “It’s just that every moment I’m not out there fighting against Megabyte, I feel like I’m betraying the system. They’re all depending on me, and I’m failing them.”
Mouse ran a soothing hand across Dot’s back that left goosebumps in its wake. “You’re not failing them.”
She jerked her head up and regarded Mouse, face full of anguish. “I let a virus take over the Principal office!”
“And there wasn’t a thing you could’ve done t’ stop it. Ah know. Ah was there, remember? You live and breathe for this system, Dot. Ah don’t think there’s a more devoted Command.Com out there. Don’t you dare feel guilty for takin’ a little time off.”
Dot said nothing for a long moment, then looked back at Mouse. She reached
over, tentatively touching the side of her face, then leaning in to brush
her lips with a feather light kiss. She’d been reluctant early in their
relationship, uneasy and unsure what to do, or even if it was something
she wanted to do, but Mouse had been understanding and supportive,
giving her the affection that had been missing in her life.
Neither had any illusions that this was something
more than a fleeting encounter. No matter what they felt for each other
here in the dark, it would not last. Dot’s feelings for Bob and Mouse’s
natural restlessness insured it short livedness, but for the moment, neither
woman cared. Here, now, it was simply a matter of roving hands, hungry
mouths, and yearning bodies. It was primal, lustful, an escape from the
weight they both carried. A chance to forget that their system was falling
apart around them, and all they could do was watch and try to hold back
the evil of Megabyte’s reign a little longer. Their lives had become endless
fights, each cycle blurring into the next in a long string of horrors.
For Dot, it was a chance, if only for an instant, to leave her pain behind,
to hang on tightly to the one person she hadn’t lost with a fevered desperation
born of fear. Fear that she would lose this too, and with it, the only
sliver of light left in her life.
Sweet sweat, pulses pounding, air sucked in through
teeth gritted in pleasure, minds blank save for roiling, instinctive needs.
No past, no future. Nothing but this instant, these lips tracing fire down
hot skin, hands caressing, back arched, low moans, guttural, deep in the
throat.
White hot, mind numbing releases, worries, thoughts burned away on
the flame of passion.
Exhaustion, lax bodies tumbled together, hearts still pounding, breath slowing, the promise of sleep and a sweet oblivion.
Sleep fades.
They dressed silently, neither wanting to face what they knew came next. Here, they had a oneness, shared souls and minds, worries and despair. In the harsh light of reality, each had to slid back into her designated role- Dot as the military Commander, cool, calm, calculating, always on her toes, ready for the next skirmish with Megabyte’s troops, ready to defend what little of her home was left. Mouse as the brash and fearless warrior, biting wit always at the ready to make a sarcastic remark, always prepared to lead the battles for a cause she had adopted as her own. Two sprites, separate, islands unto themselves, masquerading as best friends in the light, only peeling off the masks to reveal the affectionate lovers within when all the lights were dimmed.