Dream-eating-mayhem
There was that defeaning sound, like an engine in her chest. Oh right. Darn it. She was purring.
When Zari opened her eyes it was not, however, to be greeted by the usual nightmare of her throwing up a hairball. This time was different. Her eyes opened to a yellow savannah. The tall grass was making loud noises as it moved in the wind. She shook her head in wonder and felt fur around her face. She looked down, only to see giant, sand-coloured paws standing on red dirt. She was not simply a house cat this time.
"Dammit," she tried to say under her breath but instead her purring was cut off my a low grunt.
"LEUU!" she heard from behind her. As she twirled around she could see Amaya's face, surrounded by children. The children screamed and ran and Amaya's eyes went cold. She reached for her weapon and Zari opened her mouth to say something but then- CLANG!
Zari woke up with a gasp. She was in the kitchen. For some reason or another she had fallen asleep here. She looked around her in the steely blue light. Ever since she and Nate had… talked, she guessed you could call it, she had been waking up in the kitchen. She looked down at the ground and just as she thought she found a plate of pink, sprinkled donuts laying half eaten on the floor.
Stress eating. In her sleep. That sure said something about the situation she had put herself in.
She kneeled down and picked up the donuts and put hem on the table. It was her first time dreaming of Amaya since it had happened. She knew her friend probably would bless the relationship but it still felt wrong. Especially considering… how very complicated things had gotten in that department lately.
The truth was too hard to talk about. She could handle the simple stuff. Nate was… complicated, but still simple. The people on the ship understood the attraction and they liked them both. It was kind of nice to just… do something simple for once.
She sat down on one of the chairs and put her head on the table while groaning loudly.
"Oi, you up?" The cocky and unmistakeable voice of Charlie made her once again snap up with a sharp intake of breath. She quickly covered her suprise by closing her eyes halfway, giving the impression she was annoyed.
"Yeah, I was hungry." She motioned to the donuts on the table. Charlie was leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile stretched across her face. She looked different at night. No make-up, no crazy clothes. Just a pair of loose boxers and an oversized band t-shirt of some punk band called The rainbow eaters.
Her curly, dark brown and black hair curled at her temples, giving her the same look as when she had been imprisoned in the very beginning at the Waverider.
"Taking a break from all that bangin' with Nate, huh?" She grinned and did a humping motion with her hips before strutting towards the food generator opposite of where Zari was sitting, answering her by groaning loudly and rolling her eyes.
"No, he's not here. He's probably at his mom's house checking in." She looked over at Charlie as the shape-shifter leaned deep into the food generator as if it would somehow give her a tip on what to make. She jutted her ass out so that Zari's eyes fell on it. The briefs had little skulls on them against a grey background. She stared one second too long, meeting a half grin from Charlie when she caught her looking.
"Enjoying the view, are we?" Flustered, Zari forced herself to use a light-hearted tone.
"In your dreams," and pulled out a satisfied chuckle from Charlie. She started pressing some buttons and soon something was being made for her with tiny, popping sounds.
Zari looked down at her half-eaten, dirty floor donuts. Then she sighed and took another bite from one of them. While being a cat she had licked herself EVERYWHERE. Donuts from the floor was nothing compared to that.
She could feel Charlie closing in on her and leaning over her shoulder, so close that she caught her scent. She smelled of old beer, which was weirdly intoxicating, and something else. Something sweet and spicy. Like cinnamon or vanilla. It got her attention, because that was the same way Amaya had always smelled like.
Charlie leaned in over Zari's shoulder, a little too close as always. Zari looked sideway and could feel the sweet, beery breath of the shapeshifter on her cheek.
"What are you eating?" She reached a hand down and stole one of her donuts. Zari tried to protest.
"No, wait- they're mine!" but to no use. Charlie just leaned in so close to her face that their noses nearly touched and then took a huge bite of the pink donut. The noise of the sprinkles sweetly crunching in her mouth sent a strange chill down Zari's spine.
"Not anymore, Z." She winked and then leaned back into the chair, putting her legs crossed on the table. Zari swallowed and looked down at her two remaining donuts.
"Well, they've been on the floor, so- " Charlie just chuckled.
"I like 'em dirty. Adds a certain-" Zari could feel her stare. "Flavour." She hummed quietly as if to agree and smiled a little to herself as she took another bite.
"Suit yourself." They sat for a minute in silence, chewing. Charlie had made herself a bowl of buttery popcorn. She ate them a handfull at a time, popping a few into her mouth from up high.
"So…" she started, between munching. "Why are you dream eating?"
Zari stopped chewing and turned her head to look at Charlie. She had realized Charlie was observant but…
"My room's right next to the kitchen, you know." She answered, reading Zari's quiet question. Zari looked down at Charlie's band shirt and studied the splashed out rainbow and zombie unicorn.
"It's… I'm having nightmares."
"And they're making you stress eat?" Charlie asked between munches.
"I guess."
"What are you dreamin'?" Her voice was soft and nonchalant, but Zari could hear the hint of care in it. It made her heart flutter slightly. Maybe that was why she, without thinking, decided to be honest.
"Mostly I dream of being a cat." Charlie chuckled slightly. "Not just a cat but a cat stuck watching my brother being killed." She didn't look up at Charlie, but the eating seemed to have stopped.
"I was just as useless as a kitten back then. I guess it's my way of handling all the terrible things that happened to muslims in my future." She shot a glance at Charlie who was, for once, looking at her with a serious face. She looked back down at her donut.
"But tonight I dreamt of well… Amaya." Charlie took her legs down from the table, and leaned on her forearms instead.
"Your friend whose face I wear?" Zari nodded, feeling the suprising burn of tears in her eyes.
"It's just hard."
"You miss her?" Zari shrugged.
"Of course I do. But it's more than that. She and Nate were… they had a life together. And they both had to give up on that because Amaya has another fate to follow." Now everything was tumbling out of her mouth and she realized she didn't care if Charlie knew… everything.
"I didn't like Nate before. I don't really know how I feel now, but he-"
"He makes you feel close to her again?" Charlie interrupted. Zari looked up at the shapeshifter. She had an intense look in her eyes, always flecked with a hint of green no matter which shape she took. Swallowing the knot in her throat, Zari nodded.
"I noticed the way you looked at me in the begginning." Charlie continued. Zari felt like a cold hand had reached into her stomach and proceeded to rip out her organs. She knew. Charlie already knew.
"I figured it was some intense friendship, but now I get it." Charlie's voice was deep and worriedly serious. "You felt something for her."
"Friendship." Zari tried weakly.
"No." She looked up to see Charlie still staring intensly at her face. "More."
No matter how hard Zari told herself to just look away, to lie, to ignore what Charlie was saying she couldn't force herself to do it. She just stared back and nodded. Charlies face flooded with something that could only be described as sadness. When she looked away it was as if Zari was released from some sort of spell. She tried to catch her breath and her eyes found the donut in her hand once more.
"It was never more than…" she said quietly. "She and Nate were on from the beginning. But I did feel an attraction. It was hard, especially when we became such good friends." She heard her voice breaking and fell quiet. She could hear Charlies breathing and then she felt a hand on her arm.
"I knew you weren't straight." That shit-eating-grin was back. Zari couldn't help but smile.
"I don't think YOU'RE hot, I thought Amaya was."
"But we look the same, love" Charlie teased. She punched Zari's arm. Zari looked up at her and took herself by the arm as if it had hurt her.
"But you're not the same. You are definatly two completely different people. That shines through." Charlie smiled and popped some more popcorn in her mouth.
"Yeah, I know. I'm way hotter than that chick ever was." Zari tried to stop herself from smiling, but instead she steals popcorn from the bowl ("Oi!") and eat a mouthful.
"Shut up," she said, amused.
"Besides," Charlie said coyly, leaning in way too close for comfort. "You're free to shag me anytime you'd like." She leaned back again as Zari blushed.
"Eww, NO." She says, eyes traveling down to Charlie's tan thighs. They snap up again quickly.
"It might be a good way to get those weird feelings out of your system," Charlie barks loudly. "But then again, you don't look at me the same way you did in the beginning anyway."
Zari puts the last bite of donut in her mouth and mutters through her chewing:
"That's true."
"Why is that?" The tone makes her look up. Charlie suddenly look serious again. "I mean, I'm used to people looking at me and seeing someone else. But you guys on the ship you really see me, Charlie, now. Not whats-her-face."
"Amaya."
"Whatever." She waves her hand away. "But Z, love. You keep giving me these mixed signals." Zari looks away and scoffs.
"Oh but I'm not. Now you're just reading stuff into what I've told you." She stands up to throw the last donut out. It's way too much sugar for her in the middle of the night anyway. She's starting to feel a little sick to her stomach. She hears Charlie get up behind her.
"Am I?" Zari feels the shivers against her spine again. She looks as Charlie across her shoulder for a second. She can feel her eyes sending the message even though her mouth is trying to convince them both otherwise.
"I'm going back to bed." She leaves the kitchen. Charlie's bare feet is running after her.
"Z, sorry for nagging you." She takes a hold of her arm and spins her around. Charlie looks at her seriously again. That's the third time during this conversation. It scares Zari even more than the conversation they had, because her knees are starting to shake slightly. She knows that feeling. It's caged desire.
"I just love driving you crazy. I know you don't feel anything, but you're such a prude when it comes to sex." Zari crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.
"Oh really?" Charlie, hands on her hips, smiles again and shrugs.
"Can't help it. Us friends needs to be honest." Zari laughs, turning her head around to the side as if she can't believe what she's hearing.
"Friends? Is that what we are?" The shapeshifter shrugs again, raising an eyebrow. Her dark eyes look so calm. Yet there is something in them, daring her.
"You tell me." Zari looks away, stomping her foot. Charlie just stands there, rooted to the spot, as if waiting for her to answer.
"Of course we are," Zari says. Her voice breaks. Charlie walks closer to her, hips swaying. She leans in, taking a deep breath and leans closer than she's every been before. They are mere inches away from each other. Zari looks into her eyes, tries not to breathe in the warm scent of cinnamon. Despite herself she's bites her lip. Charlie's eyes roam her face while grinning.
Then with a chuckle she cracks a:
"Good nigth," and leans away from Zari. That's when she snaps. Zari's hands lash out to capture Charlie's face and pulls the shapeshifter to her. She hesitates a moment only to get to enjoy the shock on her face, before closing her eyes and giving her an oh-so-soft kiss on the lips.
Charlie pulls away and Zari's heart has stopped beating. Charlie, baffled, croaks:
"Well, that sure was unexpecte-" She doesn't get to finish what she's saying because Zari has taken another step forward, catching her hips this time and pressing them to her as she kisses her lips once again. And this time, Charlie shuts up. Instead she grabs Zari by the neck and trace kisses down her cheekbone before gently biting her neck. Zari gasps and her nails go into Charlie's hipbone.
The shapeshifter pushes Zari to the wall and proceeds to put her toungue in her mouth. That's when Zari's knees almost buckles. Her hands move to go around Charlie's neck as she pulls back for air.
"I- I…" she tries, but Charlie is licking her collarbone and moving her fingers over her right breast.
"My room is right behind you," she says, looking up at Zari from her cleavage. "If that's okay with you." Zari looks down at her, breathing heavily. She feels the warmth in the bottom of her stomach ache with longing.
"Yes," she breathes and nods vigorously. "That'd be good."
Charlie chuckles and moves up to kiss her lips again. Zari puts her hand inside Charlie's briefs to feel the soft skin there. Charlie moans into her mouth and grabs the handle of the door that happens to be pressed up against Zari's back. They stumble in through the door and quickly, finds the bed.
In the room next door Ava and Sara lies with their eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. The walls seem to be very thin. Or the women next door are very loud. A bang is heard and muffled noises.
"Is that…?" Ava asks uncomfortably.
"Yep, that's Zari screaming." Sara answers, both impressed and very uncomfortable.
"Good for her," Ava says with a strained voice.
"Maybe we should watch a movie," Sara suggests.